Let me open this morning’s thought by stating that there is ONE Spirit but many manifestations of the same Spirit, distributed by the Holy Spirit.
There is what appears to be a second experience, that of being filled or baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. After conversion, when we as believers become filled (baptized) in the Holy Spirit there becomes a greater reality of who we are in Christ Jesus; to become witnesses of Jesus in us as a follower and believer in the full Gospel of JESUS and the BIBLE.
When we surrender completely, our will, mind, emotions and life to God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, with a desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit we are saying; have your way in and on ever part of my being. In other words, you have my full devoted attention. Not my will, but yours!
The only requirement to receive the baptism (infilling) of the Holy Spirit after conversion is to desire all that God has for us. This will include a total yielding /surrendering of our body; mind/heart (our convictions, our emotions, and our will), our spirit/ soul to the working of the Holy Spirit. Yes, there will be an unction or an anointing, a power given from God, distributed by the Holy Spirit to become witnesses of the Power of God in Christ Jesus. Until you receive the baptism (or infilling) of the Holy Spirit you might say, we as believers have not appropriated what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. At conversion, we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and in Christ, we are complete (fulfilled). Through Christ, we have been provided Eternal Life. When Jesus left, He stated He and the Father would send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, for us to receive. The filling of the Holy Spirit (baptism in the Holy Spirit) is another experience but of the same one Spirit and only Holy Spirit in which all believers must desire and receive. This experience will help guide, teach, and lead believers into all truth. We will be guided into all truth, knowing right from wrong, good from evil. The Holy Spirit will take up permanent residence in the believer’s life, giving us the power to become witnesses, to guide, teach, and lead us into all truth. How exciting is this!
Here are many scriptures that support our thoughts for today; Eph. 1:3; Col. 2:9-10; 2 Peter 1:3, 2 Peter 1:4; 7:38-39; Acts 1:8,9, 2:1-4, 31,33,38-39,4:31, 5:32;10:44-47,19:1-6; Matt 3:11; Luke 11:13; John 3:8, 7:37-39, 14:16-17, 26.16:3; Ro. 8:9-11,26-27; 1 Cor. 3:16,6:19; 1 Jo. 2:27; 4:4; Eph. 1:3,5:18; Col. 2:9-10; 2 Peter 1:3; John 7:38-39; Titus 3:5-6; Judges 15:14; 1 Chron. 12:18; Ps. 51:11; Ezek. 11:5.
God sent the Holy Spirit to indwell in (to fill) the believer so they can have and maintain a relationship with Him. As we grow (mature) in the wisdom and knowledge of the Gospel, there will become an understanding of the various manifestations of the Holy Spirit. As we realize the need and purpose of the various manifestations of the Holy Spirit; there will become a desire and willingness to be used by God in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, to strengthen, encourage and build up the body of Christ.
Many Christians are familiar with the nine gifts of the Spirit that Paul describes in 1 Cor. 12:4-10, There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said (NLT).
Are you willing to receive from God? Do you desire to be used of God through the working of the Holy Spirit? Do you desire the infilling of this precious gift available to all believers who desire to be used for God’s purpose?
Again, let me clarify by asking; Are you ready, hungry, and desiring to be filled with this power from on high? Are you ready to open your will to the will of God? Are you willing to say not my will, but yours God? If the answer is yes, open your heart, yield, and surrender to God and the Holy Spirit. Desire to be filled with all that God and the Holy Spirit have for you. As a believer, these spiritual gifts are for you today.
As stated in the scriptures, we (the believers) are not of this world but are in this world. The gifts we receive from God are NOT of this world. These spiritual gifts will help us live in this world as an over comer over Satan and overcoming his various deceiving and deceptive practices. We will have the wisdom and knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; discernment of right and wrong, of good and bad.
The purpose of the Gifts of the Spirit is to fulfill the Gospel of Jesus Christ in and through the believer to become matured in the things of God not being tossed to and fro by the god of this world, Satan. As the scriptures state in Acts 17:28, 28 For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring (NLT).
The importance of the believer as living in this world but not of this world is that of being a witness of Christ in the believer, a life of purity, holiness; a reflection of Christ in us the hope of the world. Yes, we, as believers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, are peculiar people for the glory of God.
Share Life Ministries 