SUNDAY SERVICES:

Originally sent to the parish via email August 26, 2016

Have you ever pondered how miraculous it is that we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us? People in the Old Testament did not experience this blessing. The Spirit only "came upon"
God's servants in those days. Yet Jesus announced in John 7:38-39: "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'  But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive."

This passage makes it clear that the Holy Spirit does not come to live inside of us in a passive, dormant way. He does not just sit there! The same Holy Spirit who "was moving over the surface of the waters" in the first chapter of Genesis (v. 2) wants to move through you. He wants to flow like a river!

It's one thing to receive the Holy Spirit and enjoy His indwelling presence; it is quite another thing to fully yield to the Spirit and experience a "Spirit-filled" life. Many Christians are quite content for the Holy Spirit to indwell them, but few are willing to let His power fully flow through them to others.

In Scripture, the Holy Spirit is compared both to water and to fire. In the case of water, the Spirit wants to be like the Amazon River, with a torrential flow. In the case of fire, He wants to blaze until the flames spread everywhere.

The apostle Paul told the Thessalonians: "Do not quench the Spirit" (1 Thess. 5:19). Paul wanted the Spirit's fire to blaze in the hearts of his disciples; he did not want anything to hinder the impact of God's power. But too often we limit Him-by our sin, our unbelief and our fear.  Are you doing anything to hinder the release of the Spirit in your life? Are you on fire for God, or has the flame died down?

Ephesians 5:18 commands us: "Do not get drunk with wine...but be filled with the Holy Spirit." This Sunday we will be asking God to unclog our hearts so that anything that is blocking the flow of the Spirit will be removed. We will be looking at five ways we typically quench the
Spirit. Come prepared. Begin asking the Lord now to fill you with His power in a fresh way!

J. Lee Grady