The Holy Spirit is a vital part of our salvation, for without him opening our eyes we would never see Jesus and be drawn to give our lives to him. And not everybody who attends church services has had their eyes opened to God’s saving grace. At first we know nothing of this and it something we only learn about as we begin to follow Jesus. I would like all new Christians to be able to build their new lives on a solid foundation but sadly that isn’t always possible.
To be able to live righteously once we have become Christians we need to call upon the power of the Holy Spirit on a daily basis in order to be cleansed, revived, restored, refreshed and renewed. To try to live our lives as God intends us to without the continuing presence of the Holy Spirit would be like trying to run a car on empty or with a flat battery. The Holy Spirit is both our fuel and our power pack. He is the water too, as without a regular topping up of water the motor would overheat, burn out or blow a gasket and be completely useless.
I remember when a visiting preacher laid hands on me to receive the Holy Spirit. It was in the vicarage after an evening service and there were maybe twelve of us who wanted more of God. He said I was bubbling over. I remember thinking at the time that it must mean I would have a ‘ministry’ but so many years later and it hasn’t been like that. But I personally know people who have been missionaries in Nepal and Rwanda; people who have taken the gospel to Chile and India and seen dead babies brought back to life; seen amputated limbs grow back.
Amazing things happen to those with amazing faith. But my life has been much more mundane but whether you are sent to preach the Gospel in China ( I know people who've done that too) or lead a church or just make the brews or clean the loos we will all do it better if we ask the help of the helper – the Holy Spirit.
When God’s people were in the desert the manna was new each day and sustained then only for that day.
There is a verse, Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, Ephesians 5:18
So to keep on being filled daily is the secret to being effective in our spiritual lives.
To be able to live righteously once we have become Christians we need to call upon the power of the Holy Spirit on a daily basis in order to be cleansed, revived, restored, refreshed and renewed. To try to live our lives as God intends us to without the continuing presence of the Holy Spirit would be like trying to run a car on empty or with a flat battery. The Holy Spirit is both our fuel and our power pack. He is the water too, as without a regular topping up of water the motor would overheat, burn out or blow a gasket and be completely useless.
I remember when a visiting preacher laid hands on me to receive the Holy Spirit. It was in the vicarage after an evening service and there were maybe twelve of us who wanted more of God. He said I was bubbling over. I remember thinking at the time that it must mean I would have a ‘ministry’ but so many years later and it hasn’t been like that. But I personally know people who have been missionaries in Nepal and Rwanda; people who have taken the gospel to Chile and India and seen dead babies brought back to life; seen amputated limbs grow back.
Amazing things happen to those with amazing faith. But my life has been much more mundane but whether you are sent to preach the Gospel in China ( I know people who've done that too) or lead a church or just make the brews or clean the loos we will all do it better if we ask the help of the helper – the Holy Spirit.
When God’s people were in the desert the manna was new each day and sustained then only for that day.
There is a verse, Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, Ephesians 5:18
So to keep on being filled daily is the secret to being effective in our spiritual lives.
