Be Filled with the Holy Spirit Series

 

I met my wife, Sandy, when I was twenty-six, three years after I became a Christian. I had been visiting a church in Fort Wayne, Indiana. We got married in a small Baptist church with Sandy’s family and our friends in attendance, just months after we met. Our honeymoon in Chicago was joyful, but also disastrous, as someone broke into our car and stole our suitcases, which contained our clothes, and all my personal effects that I had brought with me from England. We also had cash in the car, given to us as a wedding present for our honeymoon. The thieves took that too, along with Sandy’s guitar and our Bibles. Our honeymoon was cut short to three days because of it. We still joke about it, saying that if we could get through our honeymoon, we should be able to get through anything for the rest of our married life. When you start out like that, the only way is up! When we returned home to the mobile home we had purchased, we didn't have blankets or sheets for our bed, but despite experiencing hardship and disappointment, our lives together were full of joy. We were young, we were clueless, but we were happy.

 

Every person’s journey of faith is unique, but many people can relate to having a “honeymoon experience” early in their Christian life. It is a time when you feel that you are on the mountaintop, having a wonderful time, just you and Jesus. During this time, when your faith is new and God is revealing things to you for the first time, it is a time of joy. Many feel the Lord’s presence in a strong way. Then you have to come down from the mountaintop experience and deal with the trials and lessons that God uses to shape your life and refine your faith.  It is where our faith in Christ is tested.

 

No matter what we endure, we can find rest in the truth of the gospel—that God has poured out mercy and grace on us and that we must stand firm in the faith of what Christ has done, not what we have done: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

 

This joy and inner peace come from the Spirit of God living in us as our Helper and the One called alongside us (Greek—Paraclete) forever. That thought is worth repeating—the Holy Spirit, as Jesus says, will stay with us forever: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever” (John 14:16). In another place, the Lord also assures us: “I will never leave you or forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Sometimes in our lives, it feels like the closeness of the Holy Spirit has faded—like the honeymoon period is over and the real work of living begins. I wish it were not so, but we all go through times when our intimacy with Christ seems to weaken, and life gets tough. If you are feeling that way right now, take heart—there is hope.

 

The Longing of the Spirit to Remain

 

When the forerunner, John the Baptist, testified to the crowd about the person of Christ, he said that the Lord told him the One on whom the Spirit descends like a dove and remains on Him would be the Messiah.

 

³²John testified saying, "I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. ³³"I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him.  This is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit’” (John 1:32-33; emphasis added).

 

Two points stand out about John’s testimony: 1) The Holy Spirit came down like a dove. 2) The Spirit stayed on Christ. Let's discuss these two aspects of the Spirit's coming upon Jesus.

 

The Spirit Descended Like a Dove

 

In another testimony of the same event, Luke tells us, "The Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove” (Luke 3:22). What can we learn about the character of the Holy Spirit from this statement of His appearance as a dove? He doesn’t appear as a fire, a wind, a lion, or a lamb, but like a dove. What is it about a dove that we should know and learn about? Although the dove can look like a pigeon, they are very different in temperament.

 

My American wife, Sandy, had many friends and relatives visit us in England while we were church planting from 1981 to 1999. Because we were only seventy miles from London, we would always take our guests to Trafalgar Square, where thousands of pigeons gather. You can buy birdseed to feed these pigeons, and it’s incredible how bold they become when they realize you have seed for them! They will land on you and eat the grain right out of your hand. However, a dove is very different from a pigeon. First, doves mate for life, and both work together to build their nests and raise their young. They are loyal to only one other. Another aspect of their nature is that, while pigeons are bold and not easily scared, doves are the opposite; they flutter away at any sudden noise or movement.

 

William Barclay, the New Testament commentator, explains that doves were considered sacred birds and were not eaten. The Rabbis used to say that the Spirit of God moved and fluttered like a dove over the ancient chaos, breathing order and beauty into it. Of course, after the Flood in the Book of Genesis, Noah received news from a small dove that the water had receded and that there was peace on the earth, as the dove returned with a freshly plucked olive leaf (Genesis 8:11). The dove has long been a universal symbol of peace across many cultures.

 

In the first century A.D., it was possible to offer two doves instead of a lamb sacrifice under certain conditions. Of course, the doves had to be caught before being sold. Israel is a dream destination for any birdwatcher or ornithologist; located at the land bridge between three continents, birds migrate in large numbers through Israel, making it a source of income for young people who catch and sell them. The problem with doves is that they fly away at the slightest noise or disturbance. John the Baptist was convinced that Jesus was the One to come because he saw the Spirit descend like a dove and stay on Him. Whenever the Holy Spirit comes, He brings peace to a man or woman of God. The Spirit did not flutter away from Jesus; He remained at home with Christ.

 

The Spirit Remained on Jesus

 

The passage above mentions twice (John 1:32-33) that the Spirit remained on Jesus. I believe this indicates the Spirit was able to fully settle on and work through Jesus without being grieved. I wish the same could be true for us. Over time, I have noticed that my own character can sometimes grieve the Holy Spirit. If we want the Holy Spirit to work effectively through us, it raises a question: what part of our character lessens the Spirit’s anointing? Here's what Paul the Apostle wrote:

 

²⁹Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. ³⁰Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice (Ephesians 4:29-31; emphasis added).

 

What does it mean to grieve the Spirit? The Greek word (lypelte) means to "experience deep emotional pain, severe sorrow, or grief." In the context in which the term is used, the things that grieve the Spirit are not only poor choices of words but also the attitudes of the heart, such as anger and bitterness that often go on behind closed doors between spouses, children, and youth. If we want the Spirit to stay with us, we must ask Him to help us overcome heart attitudes that grieve Him and cause Him pain. It is a changed character, the character of Christ, working within us by the transformative power of the Spirit, that causes Him to remain. The beautiful thing about the Spirit of God is that He does not leave us, even though we may grieve Him. We are sealed for that great day when Christ will come, and with Him, we will enter the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. So, what is a seal? (v. 30). It is a stamp of ownership and authority.

 

All Believers in Christ Possess the Spirit of God

 

Let's repeat: all believers receive the Spirit at the moment they convert to Christ. "For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:13; emphasis added). When you trusted in what Christ did for you on the cross, you received the Spirit of God at that moment. Paul is even more specific in his letter to the Ephesian church: "In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 1:13). The enemy has lied to some, telling them they have not received the Spirit. However, Paul states that you can’t be a Christian without having the Spirit of God. Paul again states it clearly in the book of Romans: "Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him" (Romans 8:9).

 

Suppose you are unaware of the Holy Spirit within you. In that case, your lack of recognition of His presence might be because you have never invited Him to reign over all parts of your heart's temple (1 Corinthians 6:19). Are there specific areas of your life that you feel ashamed of and have closed off to Him? These things grieve the Spirit and can lessen the intimacy between you and Him. Remember, the Holy Spirit is a person with clear ways. You might not always agree with God, but His ways are often different from ours, so we need to adjust our ways to follow the Dove, for He does not change His ways to fit us. It is the Spirit's work to sanctify us and prepare us for God's use.

 

Let me explain it this way: picture yourself as Michelangelo working on the marble statue of David. The stone that will become this incredible sculpture is all there, but to shape it, you have to chip away everything that isn't part of the final figure. The famous artist could see the finished statue in his mind, and with every strike of his chisel, the form started to emerge as he removed all the stone that wasn't part of the image. This process is similar to how the Holy Spirit inside us gradually works to remove everything that isn't of Christ. The Spirit envisions the complete work He is transforming us into. We used to sing a song in England called "Jesus, Take Me as I Am." The song's lyrics focused on this process of transformation.

 

Jesus, take me as I am; I can come no other way.

 

Lead me deeper into You; let my flesh life melt away.

 

Make me like a precious stone, crystal clear and finely honed.

 

Life of Jesus shining through, giving glory back to You.

 

In another part of Scripture, Paul writes that the Holy Spirit can also be quenched. What does he mean by his use of the word 'quench'? Here’s the passage of Scripture:

 

¹⁸In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. ¹⁹Do not quench the Spirit; ²⁰do not despise prophetic utterances (1 Thessalonians 5:18-19).

 

Is there a difference between grieving the Holy Spirit and quenching the Spirit? If so, what is it?

 

The Spirit's Fire Can Be Quenched.

 

These two descriptions are similar and overlap, but grieving the Holy Spirit usually relates to our actions toward others, like judging and unforgiveness. In contrast, quenching the Holy Spirit generally refers to how we respond to His work and manifestations. Consider how the Pharisees reacted to Jesus by accusing Him of casting out demons and performing miracles by Satan's power (Matthew 9:4). When we hear the word “quench,” we often think of putting out a fire, extinguishing a flame, or satisfying one’s thirst. When the Holy Spirit came upon the believers on the Day of Pentecost, tongues of fire appeared (Acts 2:3). The Spirit sometimes manifests as fire or flames, such as the Pillar of Fire guiding the Israelites in the wilderness or the tongues of fire that settled on the disciples during Pentecost. Since we are instructed not to quench the Spirit of God, it’s important to understand what dampens His fire so we can enjoy the closeness of His presence. Just as tending a fire involves fanning the flames to keep it burning and dampening it to put it out, the same applies to the Holy Spirit.

 

We can quench the Spirit by failing to respect His presence. Some believe that God no longer shows His presence today through the gifts of the Spirit or miracles. They think that all these gifts, which early believers experienced, have ceased because we now have the Word of God. The Holy Spirit is seen only as revealing God through Scripture in their minds. Their theology does not allow the Holy Spirit to manifest His power in that way. When we limit the Holy Spirit through our theology, we effectively quench His work.

 

Usually, fear is the main reason people hesitate to embrace the Holy Spirit. Most want to stay in control. However, if we understand that the Holy Spirit takes only what belongs to Christ and does only the will of the Father, we see that there is nothing to fear. The Holy Spirit will not force Himself on anyone. He is compared to the Dove; keep that in mind, but we cannot predict what the Holy Spirit will do.

 

God is not primarily concerned with making us comfortable. He often calls us out of our comfort zone. Faith is usually uncomfortable and risky. One influential pastor used to say that faith is spelled R.I.S.K. The Lord will always lead us to the truth and along a path that takes us closer to Him. As we participate in the work of the Kingdom alongside the Spirit, who is our Helper, we will face opposition as we go against the flow of this world and declare Christ’s victory over the enemy.

 

We are engaged in spiritual warfare and live in enemy-occupied territory. "We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one" (1 John 5:19); therefore, walking with Christ and abiding in Him can sometimes lead us into conflict with the enemy and his works in this world. We know that Christ has the victory, but we live in a time when not everything is yet under His feet. We can be confident that if we continue to follow the Holy Spirit and let Him guide us, we will appreciate the path He leads us on, for it will always bring us into closer fellowship with Him, resulting in a life of inner peace and joy.

 

We have observed that quenching and grieving the Holy Spirit produce similar effects and outcomes. Both hinder us from reaching our full potential in God and fulfilling our spiritual destiny. Both lead us down another path, away from God's presence and power.

 

In the 21st-century world system, what practices or habits do you believe are intentionally designed by the enemy to dampen the Spirit in believers or their fellowship?

 

When I am not walking closely with the Lord and obeying Him, I feel a lack of joy and an unsatisfied, irritated spirit. When I catch myself snapping at my family, I realize I need to step away, get my heart right with the Lord, and humbly apologize to my loved ones. Often, the hardest words to utter are, "I am sorry; it was wrong of me to respond like I did." Abiding or cooperating with the Spirit of God leads to a closer relationship with Him, making it easier to hear and understand the will of the Father. This is part of our “abiding in Christ.”

 

The Power of the Holy Spirit to Fill and Renew.

 

After the Spirit’s coming in the Book of Acts, when Peter and John healed a disabled man well known to the people in Jerusalem, Peter again took the opportunity to preach the gospel, and at least two thousand people were converted. Instead of the elders and teachers of the Law being thrilled at the man’s healing, they were indignant and warned the disciples “to speak no longer to anyone in this name” (Acts 4:17). Peter and John informed the other disciples, who then began to pray. It was a prayer of petition for the Lord to arise, act, and grant them boldness in the face of opposition. The Holy Spirit showed up again in a powerful way: “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly” (Acts 4:31). This event happened some time after Pentecost, possibly weeks later. It demonstrates that the same people filled on the Day of Pentecost were again filled with the Spirit and enabled to speak with renewed power.

 

Charles Finney's Testimony to the Ongoing Power of the Spirit

 

Charles Finney was a lawyer who experienced a spiritual conversion and was inspired by the Spirit to start preaching, leading over half a million people to Christ. He describes his conversion like this:

 

I was powerfully converted on the morning of the 10th of October, 1821. In the evening of the same day, I received overwhelming baptisms of the Holy Ghost that went through me, as it seemed to me, body and soul. I immediately found myself endued with such power from on high that a few words dropped here and there to individuals were sufficient to effect their immediate conversion. My words seemed to fasten like barbed arrows in the souls of men. They cut like a sword. They broke the heart like a hammer. Multitudes can attest to this. Often, a word dropped without my remembering it would fasten conviction and result in an almost immediate conversion. Sometimes I would find myself, in a great measure, empty of this power. I would go and visit and see that I made no saving impression. I would urge and pray with the same result. I would then set apart a day for private fasting and prayer, fearing that this power had departed from me, and would inquire anxiously after the reason for this apparent emptiness. After humbling myself and crying out for help, the power would return upon me with all its freshness. This has been the experience of my life.

 

This power is a great marvel. I have many times seen people unable to endure the Word. The most straightforward and ordinary statements would cut men off their seats like a sword, would take away their strength, and render them almost helpless as dead men. Several times it has been true in my experience that I could not raise my voice or say anything in prayer or exhortation, except in the mildest manner, without overcoming them. This power sometimes seems to permeate the atmosphere of the one who is highly charged with it. Many times, vast numbers of persons in a community will be clothed with this power when the very atmosphere of the whole place seems to be charged with the life of God. Strangers entering the area will be instantly struck with a conviction of sin and, in many instances, converted to Christ. When Christians humble themselves and consecrate their all afresh to Christ and ask for this power, they will often receive such a baptism that they will be instrumental in converting more souls in one day than in all their lifetime before. While Christians remain humble enough to retain this power, the work of conversion will continue until whole communities and regions of the country are converted to Christ. The same is true of the ministry.[1]

 

Our choices influence our ability to approach the throne of grace confidently. It is a paradox that when we need grace in our time of need, we are sometimes the most reluctant to turn to the Lord. The enemy of our souls knows this, and he exploits it by making us feel unworthy or by accusing us, leading us to withdraw from the Father instead of approaching boldly to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16).

 

Have you ever faced a low point in your Christian walk when you needed a fresh revelation of God's grace? Did God use that difficult time to teach you something? Briefly share the outcome of this experience.

 

When Jesus stood up on the last Day of the Feast of Tabernacles, He made this promise: “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). Christ said that the only qualification is being thirsty: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37). Are you thirsty for more of Jesus?

 

The Holy Spirit has also been compared to a river. When we choose to resist the flow of the Holy Spirit by grieving Him, we do not experience the flow of this Living Water. Any Christian who is a disciple of Jesus can attest that we all go through seasons of growth when we feel the Spirit of God more strongly. This is part of our learning process.

 

It takes the Holy Spirit within us to do the work of the Father, but it is up to us to position ourselves for Him to accomplish this. It’s like swimming out into the ocean with a surfboard; you have to go far enough so that you can catch a wave when it begins. I believe that the Holy Spirit is preparing a wave of the Spirit to break into this evil world system we live under. As believers in Christ, we don’t have to work in the energy of our fleshly nature; all we have to do is ride the wave and be ready to share the Word of God with anyone willing to listen.

 

We prepare ourselves for what God will do by being mindful of our choices, whether we decide to follow Christ or the ways of this world. In many small decisions, we set the spiritual tone of our daily lives. We choose whether to abide in Christ and let His words dwell in us or to follow the ways of this world and its wisdom, which often leads us away from Christ. We make daily choices that can lead us down different paths. Can you think of any changes you believe the Holy Spirit may want you to make? Are there any areas of bitterness, anger, or rejection that could be affecting your relationship with the Lord? The good news is that the Father desires you to experience this river of Living Water flowing from your innermost being. That is His plan for you. He wants to remove anything that would prevent you from experiencing the joy of your salvation and for the Holy Spirit's presence to rest upon you powerfully.

 

Prayer: Thank you, Father, for your grace and mercy toward me. Return again to every part of my inner life. Let no doors be closed to you. Have your way in me. Amen.

 

Continue Your Journey…

 

This devotional is part of our Be Filled With the Spirit series. Here’s the link to the YouTube video of the study: 6. Walking in Intimacy with the Holy Spirit

 

Keith Thomas

 

Website: www.groupbiblestudy.com
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