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THE HOLY SPIRIT Study No.23.
XXIII. THE MANIFESTATIONS OF THE SPIRIT.
The gifts, graces, and administrations of the Spirit are all
included in the manifestations .
The following are a few not mentioned under the other
headlines.
A. Praising and glorifying God regardless of circumstances. Acts
5:40-41. Acts 16:23-25.
B. It is scriptural to make a noise under the power of God. The
following companies must have created a considerable noise
when they spake in tongues and magnified God on the Day of
Pentecost, as it was loud enough to be "noised abroad".
1. The 120 on the Day of Pentecost. Acts 2:4.
2. Cornelius and his kinsmen and near friends. Acts
10:24,46.
3. The Disciples at Ephesus. Acts 19:6-7.
C. It is scriptural to be prostrate under the power of the
Spirit.
1. Daniel, when he saw the angel Gabriel, fell into a deep
sleep, with his face toward the ground. Dan. 8:16-18.
The effects of this visitation:
"I, Daniel, fainted and was sick certain days". (Dan.
8:27).
2. Paul, "fell to the earth", when the Lord spoke to him on
the road to Damascus. Acts. 9:3-4.
3. Peter, "fell into a trance" while receiving a vision
from the Lord. Acts 10:9-11. Acts 11:5.
4. John fell as one dead. Rev. 1:17.
NOTE. If the sight of an angel can so overcome weak human
nature, so as to cause the individual to fall prostrate, how
much less can it stand to be filled with the Holy Spirit,
without some visible manifestation.
D. It is Scriptural to have visions and Dreams. Joel 2:28.
1. The angel appeared to Joseph in a dream. Matt. 1:20;
2:13.
2. Visions. - Ananias. Paul. Peter.
(Acts 9:10-12), (Acts 16:9),(Acts 11:5)
E. It is scriptural to stagger about, fall and act like a
drunken man under the power of God.
1. The priests could not stand to minister, for the glory
of the Lord had filled the house. 1 Chron. 5:13-14.
2. On the Day of Pentecost the hundred and twenty acted
like men, "full of new wine'-. Acts 2:13-16.
NOTE. Many will hastily add, "Let all things be done
decently and in order:. (1 Cor. 14:40), but from the above
it is evident that God's idea of order is far different to
ours. To sit prim and proper and offer God a few minutes of
lip-service may seem "decently and in order to some people,
but this kind of order is foreign to the Scripture and is an
insult to God.
THE GOAL IS GOD MANIFESTED IN OUR DAILY LIVES
God's goal for each of us is maturity in Christ. This goal
is not something unattainable, or reserved only for heaven
God wants us to enjoy His Kingdom here on earth. The purpose
of every day should be directed towards achieving this goal.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit does not miraculously carry us
to maturity. Instead it brings us into a new relationship
with God which, when we have entered, needs to be explored
and understood. It is rather like entering the main door of
a very large and exciting castle: now we have the joy of
searching through every room an becoming familiar with all
the treasures it contains!
We need to emphasise again what has been mentioned before:
the baptism in the Holy Spirit is intended by God to be the
inheritance of every Christian at the very beginning of their
Christian lives as a means of bringing them to maturity. It
is not the reward tor a person who has been a Christian many
years and has finally reached a certain stage of maturity!
BE CONTINUALLY FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
We can liken our Christian lives to walking day by day along
a pathway. In his letters to the Ephesian and Galatian
churches Paul uses this picture of walking to illustrate
eight important guidelines for daily continuing in the
Spirit.
1. walk in the good words that God has already prepared for us.
Ephesians 2: 1 0. We were not chosen, and saved from the power
of sin, to do just what we like, but to do the works that God
has appointed for us. This is God's answer to frustration and
the boasting of the flesh.
2. walk in a manner worthy of the high calling God has placed on
our lives. Ephesians 4: 1. So great is God's love towards us,
that He is able to do through us far more than we can ever
imagine. (Ephesians 3:20) So me should live lives worthy of
this high calling. Paul begins in Ephesians 4:2,3 to outline
how such a life should be lived: with lowliness, with meekness,
with patience, making allowances because we love one another
and endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit. He continues
in this theme through the rest of his letter to describe and
exhort how to live worthily. Read Philippians 1 :27;
Colossians 1 :10; 1 Thessalonians 2:11, 1 2.
3. walk with a renewed mind, not a darkened mind cut off from
God's life. Ephesians 4:17,18,23,24. Once we have come into
the life of the Spirit, we should be careful never to harden
our hearts to what God is saying to us. Continual rejection of
God's instructions will make us so insensitive that we won't be
able to hear Him even if we want to! It also opens the way for
An to enter our lives.
Paul instructs us instead to have a renewed mind, "walk in
newness of life" (Romans 6:4), in God's own nature and standard
of righteousness. Read Revelation 31-5.
4. walk in love Ephesians 5:2. When love is present, the Body of
Christ operates as God has canned: each believer is accepted,
and each contribution is valued. Our love for one another
should be of the same quality as Christ's sacrificial love for
us He didn't only talk about love, He expressed it by giving
His life for us.
5. walk as children of light. Ephesians 5: 8. We are not to have
anything to do with darkness, in fact as we live day by day in
God's light, we expose darkness. Keeping close to God's
presence, enables us to avoid deception and the empty words of
man. The light is not our own righteousness, but "in the Lord"
(verse 8).
Walking in the light will have practical results: goodness,
righteousness and truth reflecting Christ's character. It also
enables us to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Read verses
614; John 3:18-21; 8:12; Romans 1:18; 13:13; 1 Thessalonians
5:1-10; 1 John 1:5-7.
6. Walk in wisdom, being filled with the Holy Spirit. Ephesians
5: 1 5-21.
"Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and
worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, hut as
wise - sensible, intelligent people." (verse 1 5 Amp.)
How does Paul describe a wise walk?
- We should be careful - not neglect any aspect of our
relationship with God. (verse 15; 1 Timothy 6:20).
- We should use the time wisely - make the most of every
opportunity. (verse 16; Colossians 4:5; 2 Timothy 4:2).
- We should not be ignorant or foolish in the things of God,
but understand what God's will is for our lives and for the
Church. This understanding comes as we daily come into Cod's
presence in prayer and wait to listen to what He has to say to
us. He will also give us understanding of His will by
revealing His Word to us, (verse 1 7; Romans 1:13; 11 :25; 1
Corinthians 10:1; 1 2:1; 2 Corinthians 1:8; 1 Thessalonians 4:1
3),
- We need to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit
Being filled with the Spirit's presence does not mean we are so
filled with power that we loose control of ourselves like a
drunken man. Instead we are disciplined, restrained and
controlled by the Holy Spirit in our thoughts, feelings words
and actions. By allowing God's goodness to flow out from our
lives like a river of living water, we will effect everyone we
meet! This verse contains one of the greatest keys to effective
Christian living. At is not an option, something we accept if
we feel like it but a command! verse 18.
We are baptised in the Spirit once, but must continue at all
times to be controlled by the Spirit. This means we must
continually yield to His control and receive His power. Read
John 7:37-39.
- A response of genuine worship towards God will be the
result of our being continually filled with the Spirit as well
as a new depth of fellowship with one another. Worship in song
and melody before God with continual thanksgiving in our
hearts; exhortation and submission to one another in
fellowship. Read verses 19-21 ; Colossians 3:1 6; Philippians
4:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:1 6,18.
7. Walk by faith. Galatians 3:13; 13,14. We received God's gift
of salvation by faith, we received God's gift of the Holy
Spirit by faith, and we should continue day by day to live by
faith. We are not to live ruled by our five senses which have
been conditioned by a world that doesn't believe iii God.
Instead all our actions should be based on a heart
understanding that we are "a chosen race a royal priesthood, a
holy nation, God's own people", that we may "declare the
wonderful deeds of Him who called you out of darkness into His
marvellous light" 1 Peter 2:9 (RSV). Read 2 Corinthians 4:18;
5:7; Colossians 2:6.
8. Walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:16. Every step we take along
the pathway God has prepared for us should he led by the Holy
Spirit (verse 18). We should constantly ask the Holy Spirit to
guide us, to open up God's Word to us, to release us from any
area of bondage in our lives; to lead us in prayer and worship
and to transform us into the image of Jesus. Walking in the
Spirit means: not giving in to the desires of our old human
nature (verse 16,24); yielding our lives to the Holy Spirit
that He might bring forth the fruit of Christ's character in us
(verses 22,23). It means living in the Spirit all the time
(verse 25).
EACH DAY
A young child fails in his first attempts to walk. But with
every new attempt he gets better and better. He falls less
often to keep in a straight line and finally the time comes
when he has no Problem walking. In fact he just walks
naturally, without specially thinking about it. This is God's
plan for us as Christians.
When we first begin to walk in the Spirit we make mistakes arid
we fall down, but because we are determined to learn about life
in the Spirit, we get up and start walking again. Soon the new
freedom of walking in the Spirit becomes natural to us.
Continuing in the Spirit, once we have been baptised in the
Spirit, should be no less difficult than it is for a child to
successfully and confidently learn to walk.
What an some of the everyday steps in our walk with the Lord?
1. Read the Word of God. God speaks to us through His Word, so we
should read it every day. Let His Word bring direction and,
where necessary, correction to us. Our life in the Spirit
should be solidly founded on the Word of God.
2. Pray in the Spirit. As we draw into God's presence, we should
spend some of the time speaking in tongues. This builds us up
and enables our spirits to communicate with God according to
His perfect will.
3. Worship. We need to develop an attitude of worship, praise and
thanksgiving towards God in all circumstances We need to
develop our relationship with Him each day - singing, praising
Him, loving Him and listening to Him.
4. Take steps of faith. We will never get far in the Christian
life if we are always waiting for God to move. In most
situations, He has already moved and is waiting for our
response. We need to believe that the Lord will act in our
everyday life -- that His supernatural presence will be seen in
the small as well as the big things.
5. Witness. We should never keep what God has done for us to
ourselves, but share Jesus constantly. Our lives should be the
greatest testimony of the reality of God in the world. As we
witness of Jesus, we should expect to receive gifts of the
Spirit so we can share more effectively (for example, the word
of knowledge).
IN FELLOWSHIP WITH OTHERS.
Every Christian baptised in the Holy Spirit needs to regularly
attend a fellowship meeting where the gifts of the Holy Spirit
are being operated under mature leadership.
1. For teaching. To have continual direction, understanding and
balance, in our lives we need regular biblical teaching. God
has placed in the Body of Christ teaching ministries to build
up the Church. We should attend teaching seminars and
conferences whenever we can. At these times God will often
bring new aspects of truth that the Church as a whole might
move forward in maturity.
2. For worship. When we come together in fellowship we reach
levels of worship that we cannot reach on our own. Worship is
a key to unity, for everyone is cantered on a common goal: the
exaltation God. Corporate worship will prepare the way for God
to speak to us.
3. For the ministry of the whole Body. This gives opportunity,
under mature leadership, for the gifts of the Spirit to operate
(for example, prophecy) and for each person to contribute
something they have received from the Lord.
of the Holy Spirit's presence: to make the boundless love and
grace of God a reality to God's people in a world full of
unbelief.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all". 2
Corinthians 13:14 (RSV).