The Gift of the Spirit

One of the greatest debates surrounds this question, "How do I know when I am filled with the Spirit." With so many denominations having so many opinions and in some cases actual balanced approaches it is amazing to discover that most people have come to believe that the filling is some kind of other-worldly, super-spiritual, emotional vibration that overtakes you and you are transported into the realm of the giant-killing mega-Christian.

"Ok, class, for this exercise we go back to the basics"

In John 3, Jesus and Nicodemus are talking. Jesus says, "To see the kingdom, to understand the kingdom, to move in the kingdom, you must be born again." Look out sacred cows! Nicodemus already had covenant relationship. Nicodemus already understood the hebrew word Yeshua, which means salvation, which is the Hebrew name that the Isrealite "Jesus" had. He was expecting the messiah of Israel. He was even asking Jesus if he was really the one. So, was Jesus asking Nicodemus to come down to the alter and get saved? "If you know you are a sinner, come down to the alter and ask Jesus into your heart."

This passage is about the Spirit of God. It is about the fulfillment of the words of the prophets that the Lord would pour out His spirit upon all flesh in the last days. Nicodemus asks about the man and his role in delivering Israel from the oppression of Rome, Jesus introduces the Spirit instead, which, if you can see what Jesus is really saying, is the best way to discern whether Yeshua was really the one they were waiting for and what His Kingdom was going to accomplish. The key ingredient in the effort to see the kingdom is being "born again". It really was about expectations that were built upon promises that G-d had left to the fore-fathers of Isreal and it was about the birthing of the Holy Spirit who would make these expectations come to pass.

If the Kingdom is your focus then born again takes on a somewhat different view. Look at an infant. What do we train them in first? Simple obedience coupled with self control. Jesus on numerous occasions points out children as examples of the heart and mentality that must exist in any person that wants to walk in the Kingdom of God. Why? Because their "normal" attitude is to have simple availability to obedience and, if you know what your doing, can be trained in self-control. Jesus is our example in these two qualities. John 5:30, "I never do anything of myself, but what I hear from my Father, that is what I do." Obedience and Self-Control. Now look at Paul's writings. "Be filled with the Spirit!", "Walk in the Spirit!". Many can quote the gifts of the Spirit, "Love, joy, goodness, kindness, patience, and...Self Control!"

If you are beating yourself up about whether you can walk in the Spirit and do great things for God because you compare yourself to others who have declared that they are spiritual and do all these amazing things, I point to James 3. He said that the tongue is an unruly evil and it sets fires that can not be controlled. Oh the damage caused by the total inability to control the tongue and resist and rebuke those who can't. Being filled with the Spirit does not start with your ability to do signs and wonders. It starts with your ability to be obedient like a child and control yourself. A message that even Nicodemus needed to hear, and one that, if we are humble, should shake us to our foundation.

Shalom my fellow saints, pastor Llave