Up and Down

[cmnahrwold]

I have not written in my blog for several months now, considering that I have not been in the Spirit on a consistent basis. Sitting down to write an article on the blog without the direction of the Spirit is pointless. Like writing cartoons versus deep spiritual pieces of meat. I have fallen into a rut spiritually. One day I will be filled, but the next day I will be into the pigpen again. The important thing is that I am not giving up, but I am trying to charge forward to get past this stage. I was so happy last week, when I found out that a group of ladies used one of my articles as a study. Also a neighbor recently talked to me about where I go to church, and if he and his family could come for a visit. So even though the light is dim through my perception, Jesus' light is still shining through somehow.

[SERay]

The Secret of Power

I could sense much of what you said, and was extending myself to you in any manner possible. I too go through ups and downs, and here recently have a new hope growing as the Spirit is filing and polishing. I sometimes lose sight of the need for love as the Christian’s primarily directive, even after writing a long discourse on it, it doesn’t always sink in. If we are short tempered, easily angered, loathing, overcome by worry or have wandering eyes, we can be confident we are not walking in the Holy Spirit and He has been quenched from our experience. When we exude love, joy, peace, self-control, temperance, long suffering, patience, confidence in God, a gentle spirit… then we can witness from these fruits that the Spirit fully abides.

I have experienced the temporal peaks that come from a emotional church service, people being blessed from my writing, a personal word of acceptance or a sermon that pumps me for a time. Like a spark, it fizzles out almost instantly. Our success as Christians is fully dependant on us choosing to empty ourselves of our own self-serving interests and love of worldly allures. Apart from a deep study of the Word of God, which is the only book that uncovers our true human nature, we shall struggle at every step. The Word of God truly prunes, convicts, inspires, chastises, illuminates… apart from it we shall not have the proper cleansing to be filled with the Holy Spirit. When Moses had finished the tabernacle, he had to remove himself when the Shekinah Glory entered, whereas the flesh of man cannot abide in the presence of God, no more than the Holy Spirit can endow a person full of themselves. We must be emptied to be filled.

I say all this to confirm my relating to your words, whereas all I have to do is slip ONCE and the Spirit is instantly quenched and I find myself back to struggling to walk as a Christian. Pitting my efforts against the flesh is sure failure, only by being constantly filled with the Spirit can I have a genuine walk of victory. The preservation of the indwelling Spirit is so very precious. Somewhat like a very delicate, hand blown piece of glass, it can be broken very easily. Just one look of lust can smite the Spirit’s presence. We need to quickly seek immediate repair of the breach, but if we don’t give it quick attention, more compromise will come to bear and a couple days later, we find ourselves wandering in the flesh, feeling estranged to the things of God. We may stop listening to praise music, the bible remains closed, prayer is fleeting if at all… all marks of the departing.

There could be called two in dwellings of the presence of God. The seal of the Spirit that marks us as a regenerated child, something that does not change unless we forcefully turn our backs on the person of Christ. The second is the daily, moment by moment dwelling that REQUIRES our participation and submission. If we are a struggling prideful person, our disciplines and passions will easily be compromised. Since all souls are prideful due to the fallen nature, it is necessary for an aggressive submission on the part of the servant. As the saints of old, we need to fall to our knees in total awareness of our inability to succeed in our own efforts and seek the total control of the Holy Spirit.

Many people struggle in the Christian life because they don’t understand the proponents of the daily walk and the mechanisms entailed. And even those who have a grasp fail to retain what is true and find themselves wandering if not attentive. Also, we have to stop blaming our environment for our weaknesses. Some Christians are in the middle of godlessness, and they blame their compromise on their associates. You realize, the Corinthian church was located in the middle of rampant impurity that makes Mardi Gra seem tame. It certainly takes an extra measure of commitment when in the midst of impure hearts on a daily basis, but the Spirit will make it possible. I can recall when the Spirit lead me when I worked at one employer who’s inhabitants were ungodly. The Spirit’s presence through me would buffet that darkness, and people actually gave reverence to what they could not understand, but their spirits respected. It wasn’t about me, it was the Spirits dwelling. Sure, the mark of true Christian is persecution, and I was indeed ridiculed, but there are those who now claim the name of Christ and reflect on those days of persecution.

Finally, sometimes I find a greater sense of walking in the Spirit when I have taken time in lonely places. If Christ did, so must I. I have the greatest spiritual experiences in my prayer closet, as the Spirit is working and filling internally. All throughout the Synoptic Gospels, Christ constantly removed himself to go unto lonely places, to seek oneness with God, to recharge essentially. If we serve without intimate Holy communion with the Spirit, we will quickly find ourselves operating in the flesh trying to simulated the Spirit. I sometimes lose sight of this and find myself trying to operate outside of the confines of His will, and the results is often a cynicism, or cold intellectual ascent that may be accurate, but lacks the love of the Spirit. This religious spirit is prevalent in the church today. A sense of duty, function and activity void of the Holy Spirit marked by absence of the spiritual fruits. You probably have experienced these churches… no real joy, no real expression of love, compassion or empathy, but rather plastic smiles, tense communications and often a fear of judgment. God’s Spirit is not in this, whereas a prayer vigil and search of the Scripture with one genuine Christian is far more beneficial than trying to function in a body who lacks the Spirit.

Dwight L. Moody wrote a book in 1881 called "The Secret of Power" which was forwarded by R. A. Torrey, a contemporary of that time. Outstanding book and a must read for any Christian striving to succeed in the Christian life.

[Watchman]

Thank You for Your Honesty

Thank you for sharing Truth, I am always blessed when people are honest and share their weakness's and failure's and frustrations.

When I was a new believer all I ever heard was success stories and it eventually caused me to doubt my salvation. I thought that I was a failure and everybody else was a winner due to the amount of success stories I heard.

So I really appreciate people being honest. Especially about their failings. I believe this shows true humility and is much to be admired. I have often learned deep spiritual things from honest people. I agree with your email and am convicted and touched by your honesty.

Thank you again and I pray that The Lord God rewards you all for telling and sharing the truth.

[SERay]

Being Refilled with the Holy Spirit

I have read some statements lately refuting the need to seek refreshing from the Holy Spirit, and I thought I might provide a brief outline based on my experiential walk in Christ.

We all "quench" (1 Thess. 5:19; Eph. 4:30) the Spirit when we choose sins of omission or commission. But a Christian can live a life of defeat if does not maintain the moment-by-moment experience of being continually filled by the Spirit of God. We can have the Holy Spirit drained from us, as Christ did when virtue (Spirit) was drained from him (Mark 5:30). If you have ever been in a situation of a genuine healing, used by God to dismiss a demon, or battled darkness on the mission field, you will know what being drained is about. The Charismatic teaching of being "refilled" is more correctly defined as being "restored" as the Psalmist often cried out for, e.g. Psalms 51. The charismatic’s proof doctrine for refilling is Acts 4:31 and 13:52, neither which adequately imply a refilling, but rather a restoration... which is a very thin thread when semantically approached.

Many people are confused about what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Some people think you must have some kind of ecstatic experience and speak in tongues, while others approach it very stoically. They simply recognize that the Holy Spirit is present, but think He makes little or no impact. Both are wrong. The filling or controlling of the Holy Spirit is a profound reality in the believer's life and understanding it can change your life.

Baptism with the Holy Spirit is a definite experience. A person can and should know whether he has received it or not. Acts 19:2 “There he found some disciples and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" When the visitation happen, it is defined as the moment we believed, in Galatians 3:2 "I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?" Also, Acts 2:38.

Every Christian possesses the Holy Spirit in all His fullness from the moment he believes. A Christian does not receive the Holy Spirit in bits and pieces. There is no such thing as a Christian without the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:9 says, "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him".

I will say, yes, based upon the temple model, which was the blueprint for the Christian life, a refilling or restoration is part of the effective Christian life, and I am not Charismatic whatsoever in doctrine. We are indeed sealed fully by salvation, but the power to be victorious has to do with "Being continually filled with the Spirit" (Ep 5:18) in sanctification which implies that a person can have varied degrees of fullness and further "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). The Koine Greek "pleroo" means to be "filled to the rim". It was used often of the wind filling a sail to move a ship along. Why the command to be filled except that one can be measurably not filled? Within the Greek language is an indicative mode, which is the statement of fact, and an imperative mode, which states a command. Ephesians 5:18 is an emphatic imperative, and is literally translated, "Be being kept filled with the Spirit." It is a command that includes the idea of conscious continuation.

The Old Testament example is of the Lamp stand. The priests were to refill the lamps twice daily, once in the morning and once in the evening. "And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at evening, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations" (Exodus 30:7-8). The incense was continually “refilled” as to maintain the constant state of being filled. As Christ often did in parable, I will use a life property as an example. A wilted plant sitting in the sun has life, but is lacking support to sustain that life. A fresh addition of water will within a short time, revive that plant to its restored splendor. It can loose it's vitality over and over if neglected. It is at the mercy of external intervention to restore, whereas it cannot provide water itself. It is the being “restored” by being “refilled” that the plant was sustained.

While there are no concrete scriptures to fully substantiate either position, personally, I know I am fully sealed and sustained in assurance, but often seek restoration when my walk has been impeded by a sinful deviations or when drained due to ministry demands.