Monday 22 July 2019

Flowing in the Spirit

Scripture: John 7 v 37 - 39: "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
39  (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)"


So many people have no idea who the Holy Spirit is, and what power He gives us.  We think of ourselves only by what we can see, our humanness, but do not consider what we were before we were confined in this body of flesh.  And our enemy wants to keep us from ever knowing.

Our true self is a spirit being made in the image of God.  A good scripture is Luke 9 v 54 - 56: "And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
55  But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
56  For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village."

The village had rejected them and chased them away and the disciples wanted to punish them with fire from Heaven like Elijah did to the prophets of Baal. Jesus responded with a rebuke i.e. strong disapproval, and the words, You don't know what manner of spirit you are of.

We are spirits and can never die, but where we spend that eternity is our choice to make.  When we are born again of water and spirit it means our dead spirit comes to life again because we were in Jesus at the time of His Resurrection.  When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, we are empowered with His gifts that bless other people in many ways.  

On the Cross Jesus became a magnet that drew the spirits of everyone who had ever lived, even those who were now dead, even those not yet born, to Himself.  No matter what sex, creed, colour, language, flag, occupation or mental state we were in, at the Cross of Jesus we were united and became one with Him.  We died with Him and came back to life in Him, and as long as we believe in Him and obey His Word, we will be with Him eternally.

When we flow with the Holy Spirit in the gifts, its when we have used them and seen the wonders they do, much like a pianist.  At first the pianist must practice until a level of accomplishment is achieved, and has gathered experience, and then he can flow from one melody to the next, changing tempo and beat, singing along, other instruments joining in.

We need to be aware of the Holy Spirit prompting us and changing our direction to follow Him in deeper areas of discernment and ministry through prayer, laying on of hands for healing, receiving revelations or words of knowledge.  He moves speedily from one problem to the next giving visions or words or whatever will get our attention.  We must flow without distractions and pray as He prompts us.

The longer we do this the easier it becomes.  It is automatic after a while like changing gears in a motor vehicle while driving.  You know when the next gear is needed and then you are on the highway flowing smoothly in top gear.  When you are in top gear with the Holy Spirit it is an exciting ride.

It is different every day as His anointing are fresh every morning.  Your life must be lived in accordance with the will of the Father which He writes on your heart every day.  You must discern and discover His will for you, which will be different for each person.  It will always be in line with the Word of God, the Bible.  It will never justify sin or compromise your integrity.

When you know His will and start to pray, the Holy Spirit will reveal how to do the Father's will.  Jesus says the only names written in the Lamb's Book of Life are those who do the will of His Father.  Matthew 7.

When you are flowing in the Spirit everything you need to achieve that objective is made available.  Sometimes it's like a chain reaction.  One obedience triggers off different responses and the end result is victory for the Lord.  Then we can say all things work together for those who love the Lord.  Romans 8 v 28.

If we read the marvellous books of Corrie Ten Boom, who together with her family, helped many Jews escape the Holocaust during the 2nd World War.  She and her sister were eventually captured and imprisoned in one of the concentration camps until the day before they would both go to the gas chamber, she was miraculously released to go home.  Her sister died.

Here is the life of a woman who truly walked in the power and flow of the Holy Spirit.  Here are many examples of obedience and battles with our will, especially when she was preaching in a church and one of the people who came forward to receive salvation was the cruel commander of the concentration camp.  How she struggled to pray for him when she needed to forgive him is a message to many living with wounded hearts.

Flowing in the Spirit of the Living God is the greatest experience of our lives.  One hour in the presence of Jesus is better than a month long holiday.  The refreshing of our inner being, the joy and the blessings outstrips by far any other endeavours we can imagine.  The more we know Him, the more we achieve for Him.  

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we delight to do Your will and to flow in the Spirit to see things happen to bless others and to receive Your approval.  Let us learn to flow and grow and glow to Your Glory.  In Jesus' name. Amen.