“If you love me, you will obey what I command.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever– the Spirit of truth.
The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.
Because I live, you also will live.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
“All this I have spoken while still with you.
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."
John 14:15-20, 25, 26
So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.
Zechariah 4:6
"It's the real thing" - Coca-Cola slogan
I can't do anything in my own strength.
By myself, operating on my own, I'm just floundering about,
just barely treading water enough to keep my head above water.
In myself all I can think about is-myself.
Without Jesus, without being filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit who is my Comforter, Teacher, Director, Reminder, there's only the daily grind as motivated by the concept of "self": what will I eat, drink, wear, sleep, earn, buy, sell, live- my strength and power is as nothing.
To be filled with the Holy Spirit is the only way we can fulfill our purposes and find meaningful abundant life in Jesus the Messiah- without Him we can't even remember what Jesus told us (Jn 14:26). So why are so many Christians wary and fearful of allowing themselves to be filled with the Spirit? Yes, it will be different, and even unpredictable at times because we hand over the "helm" of our lives to the Holy Spirit. We learn to hear the voice of the Lord through the Spirit:
"This is my way, walk in it.", not the voice of the accuser who wants to keep us captives.
We learn to move from the comfort zone, and we are enabled to love those who we may have despised, judged, or hated, as we realize how we are furiously we are loved, even when we despised ourselves.
Beloved, if you are filled with the Holy Spirit praise the One who fills you, and pray for the filling of those who are not. To those who are not yet filled, fear not, release the false sense of control you have to God who is sovereign and desires to fill you up with the good stuff, the real thing, His Holy Spirit.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever– the Spirit of truth.
The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.
Because I live, you also will live.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
“All this I have spoken while still with you.
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."
John 14:15-20, 25, 26
So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.
Zechariah 4:6
"It's the real thing" - Coca-Cola slogan
I can't do anything in my own strength.
By myself, operating on my own, I'm just floundering about,
just barely treading water enough to keep my head above water.
In myself all I can think about is-myself.
Without Jesus, without being filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit who is my Comforter, Teacher, Director, Reminder, there's only the daily grind as motivated by the concept of "self": what will I eat, drink, wear, sleep, earn, buy, sell, live- my strength and power is as nothing.
To be filled with the Holy Spirit is the only way we can fulfill our purposes and find meaningful abundant life in Jesus the Messiah- without Him we can't even remember what Jesus told us (Jn 14:26). So why are so many Christians wary and fearful of allowing themselves to be filled with the Spirit? Yes, it will be different, and even unpredictable at times because we hand over the "helm" of our lives to the Holy Spirit. We learn to hear the voice of the Lord through the Spirit:
"This is my way, walk in it.", not the voice of the accuser who wants to keep us captives.
We learn to move from the comfort zone, and we are enabled to love those who we may have despised, judged, or hated, as we realize how we are furiously we are loved, even when we despised ourselves.
Beloved, if you are filled with the Holy Spirit praise the One who fills you, and pray for the filling of those who are not. To those who are not yet filled, fear not, release the false sense of control you have to God who is sovereign and desires to fill you up with the good stuff, the real thing, His Holy Spirit.
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