LUI - Revisited

Here's a blog entry from April of this year. These re-posts are for the benefit of us all. They are here to remind us of all that God has been teaching us this year and to stir up the work of the Holy Spirit within our lives. I pray that you are encouraged.

"And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit" {Ephesians 5:18}

"Do not quench the Spirit" {1 Thessalonians 5:19}

These are two very interesting commands in regards to the church and the Holy Spirit. The Ephesians verse teaches us to be "continually filled" (according to the Greek) and the Thessalonians verse teaches us to never do anything that would "stifle", "put out the fire", or "suppress" the work of the Holy Spirit. While these verses are working from a different perspective, they each have a common denominator: The Holy Spirit of God.

I don't think the Apostles ever considered having church apart from the Holy Spirit. I truly don't believe that our Lord envisioned a time when the church would never need His Spirit at work in them to bring the nations to Christ. On the day of Pentecost we witness the Promise of Jesus coming upon the believers in the upper room. What you may not know is that this was during the "Feast of Firstfruits." It was a time of bringing in the first of the spring harvest, with the promise that God's provision would never end. What took place on the day of Pentecost was only the beginning. The church, and believers, would continue to experience more of the Spirit's filling throughout the book of Acts.

This is vital to our understanding of what it means to live a Spirit-filled life. How can we expect to live out our faith if we are missing out on the working of the main ingredient. Jesus said it was the Holy Spirit that would guide the believer into truth. It is the Holy Spirit that was to teach and admonish the believer. We have established discipleship programs within the church that basically says if you will read the Bible all the way through, memorize some scripture, and tithe that you will grow. I ask you (the reader), has anyone ever taught you how to be filled with the Spirit? Has anyone in the church taught you what it means to wait for Him to move upon you, how to recognize what He is doing, or how to go deeper in the things of the Spirit? While I believe every follower of Christ should read His Word, commit Scripture to memory, and give; there is so much more available to them than just going through the motions.

I truly believe that we are seeing a generation that expects to see more from the church. I'm serious...we cannot keep going with the same old stuff and expect to impact the world. We have tried being relevant without realizing that the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit. We have tried being relational without understanding that it is very hard for light and dark to co-exist. While each of these goal are admirable, I believe that it is when the church decides to be a revelation in the world that everything will change.

How does this happen?

> Be Filled With The Spirit
> Don't Quench The Spirit

Jesus promised the Father would give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. Paul said to be continually filled and then went on to tell us not to quench the Spirit's work. It is evidently clear that what we need to see more of in the church, and in our personal lives, is the Holy Spirit. It's a return to what worked in the 1st Century Church. They didn't have the educational background, the experience, or the finances to pull it off. All they had was the Holy Spirit and a commission to make disciples of all nations. Today...we have been educated beyond obedience, are way too experienced (know how to do it), and have too much money (scared to lose it). When all we need is just some men/women who are willing to walk with Jesus, be filled with the Spirit of God, and take the risk of taking the Gospel to the nations.

It's time for Living Under the Influence. Any takers?