RELEASING THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit comes to indwell every person who repents of sin, asks for forgiveness and invites Jesus Christ to be the Lord of his or her life. But that is just the beginning of the adventure known as the Spirit-filled life. After we are saved and the Holy Spirit indwells us . . . what’s next?

After He was crucified and raised from the dead, Jesus told His disciples that they were to stay in Jerusalem (Acts 1:4-5) until they had received the promise of the Father (Joel 2:28). He then went on to say this would be the time when they would be “baptized with the Holy Spirit.” He continued, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). In this verse Jesus links Holy Spirit baptism with the power that would be necessary to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Some say the baptism of the Holy Spirit happens at the moment of salvation; others say the baptism of the Spirit is a second distinct work when a person fully surrenders to the Holy Spirit. I honestly don’t have a problem with either description. If you come to me and say, “I’m filled with the Spirit and have been since the moment I gave my life to Jesus,” I accept that as your testimony. If you come and say, “I’ve been saved for five years, and a few months ago during a powerful time in prayer, the Holy Spirit came upon me, filled me and I spoke in a heavenly language.” I will say, “Praise God! I accept that as your testimony.”

Let me picture for you what I believe about the Holy Spirit and His place in our lives. When we accept Christ as our Savior, it’s as though we are a used bottle that is covered and filled with dirt and has been discarded. Jesus picks us up, washes us clean on the inside and the outside. After all the filth is thoroughly washed away, He fills us with new wine and the bottle is sealed. The Lord then says to us, “I want you to go and share this new life, this new wine, with others. Tell them what I have done for you. Will you do that?” We respond, “Yes, Lord, what You have done for us is powerful and we want others to know. We will go and share with others!”

 

The Lord says, “Because you have made yourself available, I am going to fill you to overflowing with this new wine and those around you are going to receive from the overflow. In order for that to happen, I am going to take the cork out and then others can receive the overflow of the Spirit from your life.” Jesus said, “‘He who believes in Me . . . out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive” (John 7:38-39).

Sometimes the evidence of Holy Spirit power begins to show forth at the time of “baptism in the Holy Spirit.” For many of us, however, it comes over time as we grow and mature and the fruit of the Spirit begins to show forth in our lives.

Psalm 1:3 is a wonderful picture of a New Testament believer growing and maturing and becoming fruitful: “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” There’s that phrase again — rivers of water. We are like a tree that is planted by the Lord beside rivers of water. As we learn to draw from the rivers of His Word and His Spirit, and we grow in our relationship with Him, we will begin to show forth fruit of the Spirit and we are empowered by Him.

In Galatians 5:22-23 the apostle Paul lists the fruit of the Spirit as “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” All of this fruit has to do with how we relate to other people. The fruit of the Spirit begins to show forth in our lives “in season,” meaning there is a growth and preparation period. Perhaps even some pruning will take place before the fruit can really come. But it will come “in season” and it will be good fruit and successful for God and His kingdom.

If we as the church are going to be effective witnesses for Him, we are going to have to have all the fruit of the Spirit showing forth in our lives. Unlike a natural tree that will only bring forth one kind of fruit, we are called to bring forth all the fruit at the same time. No one gets a pass that says you don’t have to show patience or faithfulness. Maybe that’s what the power of the Holy Spirit is all about. Maybe it’s an enduement of power that allows us to show forth all the fruit of the Spirit at the same time, thereby showing forth the real beauty of a life transformed by the power of God’s Holy Spirit.

One thing I know for sure. He is ready to fill us to overflowing again. He is ready to uncork us again. “Do not be drunk with wine . . . but be filled (continually being filled) with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).

One of my favorite songs to worship by is Holy Spirit Rain Down. Embedded below is the video of the Hillsong Worship Team leading their church in this wonderful song.