Bible Heaven/Bible Heaven.iso/alphon_1/7845/h-spirit.023

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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).