Understanding the "Much More" of God

Luke 11:13, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

1 Corinthians 12:1, "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant."

Why has ignorance about the gift of the Holy Spirit ruled the church? Jesus spent considerable time sharing with His disciples about the Spirit's coming and purpose. He even went so far as to say that God was more than willing to give the Gift to those who would ask. However, here we are in 2011 and our churches are filled with great confusion, debate, and misunderstanding about the ministry and gifts of the Spirit of God.

If you have been reading this blog for any amount of time, you have seen my posts concerning the church and the Holy Spirit. You know that I desire to see the church rediscover the power, anointing, and effectiveness of the Spirit of God. The church of the "Last Days" cannot afford another day or another minute operating in His absence. We must make it our goal and strategy to seek out His ministry among us.

All you have to do is look at the statistics. According to most researchers the divorce rate is higher in the church than in the world. Most of us have seen or heard of the accounts of infidelity, money laundering, and moral collapse among church leaders. Church splits regularly occur among "God's people." And when you consider that many of the young women who enter abortion clinics to "get rid" of a "mistake" claim to be evangelical Christians - SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE!!!

The change we need will only come through the Spirit of God. We have labored for years to build the house that Jesus said He would build. We have struggled to even match the conversions that we read about in the book of Acts. The problem that we currently see in the church is directly related to the fact that we have moved God out of the equation. If you need proof, then come and read my email inbox and see all the offers I get for conventions/workshops that have absolutely nothing to do with seeking God for a fresh outpouring of His power. They will teach me strategy, programs, and planning methods. But I have yet to see a workshop/seminar that asks the Lord to teach us to pray as John the Baptist taught his disciples to pray. We have sought immediacy rather than intimacy and it is killing us!!!

With all that being said, there is good news on the church front. There is a remnant of believers that are seeking to walk in all that God has made available. Many of the people within this remnant are from the younger generations. They have grown tired of "church as usual" and seek to encounter the God of the Bible. They are looking for an experience rather than settling for stories. They hunger for a fresh awakening over the stale bread of the past. They want more, they seek more, and they will receive more. Why? They will seek more because Jesus promised "MUCH MORE!"

The "much more" of God isn't about me having more than you. The "much more" of God is about God having more of me. It's about being awakened to the fact that the Spirit of God dwells in me. The Giver of the gifts is within. I'm not looking for an outside force to come in - I'm asking what is on the inside to be manifest. Religion seeks to change us from the outside in while God's desire is to affect us from the inside out. The Body of Christ needs to capture God's heart for prayer, relationship, and sensitivity to His work among us.

We don't have to be ignorant about spiritual gifts and we do not have to be lacking in the power of the Holy Spirit. Everything we need (I said EVERYTHING we need) for life and godliness we already possess through His divine power. We live under an open heaven. Our churches have no business operating in lack. God has committed to showing His hand when we seek His face. The best "growth strategy" in the world today is to fall on our faces before God and wait for Him to move. We just need to be ready to move with Him!!!