It is to You Advantage

Greetings,
There is awakened in me a great need of being led by the Spirit. Jesus, did only what He did by the power of the Spirit. So it must be with us as well. He told the disciples He was sending them someone just like Him. He said it was to their advantage that He went away so that the Helper could come, the one just like Himself. It is of necessity that God's people be filled and continually filled with the Spirit of God. We cannot walk in the government of God unless we are led by the Spirit. The kingdom of God is in the Spirit, so if we are to walk the kingdom walk we must walk in the Spirit. The kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit. So if we allow ourselves to be led by our flesh, we do not experience His government which is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit.

The absence of power in the church is due to the Holy Spirit not being given proper place in our lives. the kingdom is in the Spirit and Paul says that the kingdom of God is not in word, but power. Jesus told His disciples that there were many of them who would not die until they saw the kingdom of God come in power.
There are many today who have projected the coming of the kingdom far into the future. If that is so, some of those guys must still be alive somewhere. In Acts one Jesus told His disciples that they would receive power after the Holy Spirit came upon them. In Luke 24, He told them to tarry in Jerusalem until they were clothed with power, so obviously the kingdom came in power at Pentecost. We don't believe in tarrying much anymore, but whatever it takes we must be filled with His Spirit. In Acts chapter 6 those who were chosen to wait on tables had to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. Should any less be expected of us who serve the Lord and especially, we who preach the word.

What would happen in the church today if everyone from the nursery to the greeters at the front door were filled with the Spirit? Look at what happened immediately after they set the deacons apart. Act 6:7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

I have shared many times how I asked the Lord one morning to give me something from His word that day and He led me to 1 Samuel 16. It's a great chapter and one I was extremely familiar with. In my pride I kind of thought, "what can the Lord show me in that passage?" I had not finished the first verse when a sentence in the very middle of the verse leaped off the page. "Fill your horn with oil, and go." How many times have I gone out to minister and the horn was empty. The Lord showed me that intimate with His Spirit was necessary in keeping my horn full. He has made provision for us to be continually filled to overflowing, that there is a river. Jesus timing and choices all flowed out of intimacy with the Father.

Our communication, our fellowship is with the Spirit. If you do a careful study of God speaking in the new testament, other than Jesus speaking to Paul on the road to Damascus, it was always the Holy Spirit that spoke to them and gave instruction. The scripture was written by holy men of God who were moved by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is a person. He is not a force or power. He can be insulted;He can be grieved; He can be quenched; He can be blasphemed; He can be ignored. As I said earlier, the reason for the absence of power in our people is because we have not given the Spirit His proper place. We have forfeited our advantage and quenched Him by our ignorance and fear. The Spirit is Lord and we must submit ourselves to the Spirit of God in us and bring this flesh under subjection. If you touch a live wire you are in for a shock, unless it is adequately insulated. We have so insulated the Holy Spirit with our flesh that the power is not being released. Many cannot tap into the Spirit's power because they are so afraid to be out of control. Oftentimes we have more desire to be respectable than powerful. Many times Jesus offended minds to reveal hearts.Jesus, being Who He was was dependent on the Spirit. How much more so should we be? It takes more than programs and rhetoric to change the lives of people.

Too long, we have brought men's methods into the church to make up for the absence of power. We have come to a time in the church where we must return to the power of the Spirit. We cannot do the work of the ministry apart from Him. We must return to the basics. Whatever we need to do to be clothed with power from on high we need to do. We are being summoned. There is a lost and dying world crying for help. If
Now is the time to seek the Lord. Repent of those things which have quenched the Spirit, remove hindrances, and ask Him to fill you up. Fellowship with Him; He is your friend, the one along side, the comforter, the Helper, the enabler, the standby, your counselor, your guide. He is your advantage.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen 2 Cor. 13:14
Be blessed,
Herb Dean