He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. John 16:14,15 (NIV)All that belongs to the Father belongs to Christ. All that belongs to Christ belongs to the Spirit. All that belongs to the Spirit is ours (his followers).
I looked up every text I could think of, unaided, about the Holy Spirit. I consulted no concordance to help me. Among the texts I read was this one: "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." Ephesians 5:18. This text has become a favorite of mine because it is is a command. All God's commands are enablings. God would hardly command something of us unless He were willing to confer the gift in question, as well.
LeRoy Froom mentions that their are four requirements for receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit in its fullness. 1) We are to be emptied of selfish reasons for wanting to be filled with the Holy Spirit, 2) We are to be emptied of all else so we can be filled more and more with the Holy Spirit, 3) We must have faith, and 4) We must have obedience. When I read these requirements I was momentarily disheartened, but then took heart when I realized that no one in their own power can produce any of these four requirements. They are all gifts of Spirit. So I ask God from time to time to grant me these four gifts that I may then be able to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Many think they have experienced that fullness. I think one would know it as much as one would know that the sun was shining and not the moon.
What would a Spirit-filled person be like? Would they be perfect? Far from it. Only glorified people are perfect. So what would be the the proof--if we can speak of proofs--of the Spirit dwelling inside? Perhaps the major proof is the desire and the obsession with wanting to be Spirit-filled. Why would anyone want such an experience unless the Spirit granted that person the desire for such an experience? Experiencing the life of the Spirit is not a one time event. It has to happen daily--hourly, if one is a new Christian. The old modes of thinking and living must fade and new Spirit-filled ways of looking at life, at others, at God and at oneself, must take their place.
After reading so much about the Holy Spirit and meditating on the Spirit dimension, I realized that in a few minutes I'd be asleep. So much of what one dreams about is not edifying. Of course, some people dream more colorfully than others. Half an hour before retiring I expressed a wish to dream about the Holy Spirit in some way. Or perhaps my request was that I would have a Spirit-filled dream. What a thrill it would be if one could "dream in the Spirit" on a regular basis. One can't very well do so at will, but perhaps by asking God for this transcendent night experience, He will at times grant us our request.
The next morning I was delighted that I remembered the Spirit-filled dream and at least some of its details. In the dream I was preparing to preach a sermon in an Adventist Forum church in a big city. It was a simple sermon, but sometimes simplicity is appreciated more than complex or unmanageable sermons. Even the usually Freudian aspects of the dream were somewhat sanitized by the Spirit's presence. It was an almost unrecognizable dream when I compared it with the typical replay of past, present and wished-for futures that are the raw materials that are reprocessed in one's dreams every night.
It is my prayer that we all live in the Holy Spirit, that we dream in the Holy Spirit and that one day we be glorified in the Holy Spirit at the Second Coming of Christ.
Hey there Raul,
ReplyDeleteThe second coming of christ is something the devil also want to do..
Is it not said that first the antichrist will show ? (07-07-07)
So we must be aware of the evil things the antichrist will use to let us believe that he is the real christ.
To be aware we must prepare us to see the scare...we must dare.
Take care :-)
Mike
Mike, I see you love numbers, as well. I'm not equating 07-07-07 with anything evil. I'm looking forward to it as a special day of meditation and joy. It has more positive energy than last year's 06-06-06 which I purposely devoted to, again, meditation and joy to counteract, if possible, the bad energy of the 3 sixes. I forget at times about the antichrist and think of him as a force or entity. But he may well be an actual person who is to appear.
ReplyDeleteAll the best.
Raul,
ReplyDeletethe comfort of meditation i´ve not
gotten to yet. not the right way anyway.:-)
The antichrist as an actual person
is my view xsackly(can´t spell you know).
In the world of conspriacy,where i spent all of my time,there´s a hype
going on a major change in the human mind, a revelation of some kind,with man forced to look in in oneself and see what´s behind the vail.
I totally see that as the truth.
With the help of the internet, all
the things that have "rested" in the shadow, is know coming out.
Trying to prevent those things
the devil is know doing his best
to mix false truths with the truth
so people still is at sleep acting like sheeps.
Mainstreammedia and television has nothing to offer only brainwashing
people to think it´s okey to believe that the world cannot be better place for all.
Don´t you agree that the devil is in control ?
from my heart
Mike
Mainstreammedia and television has nothing to offer only brainwashing
ReplyDeletepeople to think it´s okey to believe that the world cannot be better place for all.
Don´t you agree that the devil is in control ?
Yes, I do believe that, with the right variables in place, the world can be a better place for as many as possible. I also believe in optimism and improving people's lives as much as possible.
By the way, in case I forget, what is your philosophical or religious background, if I may ask? How did you come upon my blog? Was it by chance or was it from someone's blogroll?
Regarding the devil, hm, that's a tough one. Most of my youth was spent believing firmly in the existence of the devil. It did me more harm than good. I'm not saying that such a terrible being like the devil does not exist. He may well exist, although I think with the accomplishments of the great master criminals of world history, Hitler, Stalin, and the masterminds of Sept. 11, 2001, I think human beings can be even more evil than the devil could ever be.
But I agree that a dark force, or principle at any rate, is at work in our world. It may continue it's destructive designs for an indefinate period of time.
I look forward to reading some of your future comments, as time allows. God bless.
Raul
Raul bless you to.:-)
ReplyDeleteI got here via pushing netx blog and vupti your site caught my attention.
I think it is google that choses which blogs pupping up on my screen.
Not by a random kind a thing as we are let to believe,they scan our computers and make the matches.
Its the word orlt that i named a picture i made,that has let me to believe that ,that is the truth.
That word i have never seen before i my life untill it pupped up on a site.
Also one day i wrote a poem with rhymes ending on ine,hold on will
get it for you.:-)
hmm i can´t find it,so that´s gonna wait....odd
My religuess hihi sorry religious backline or ground as it is,
realy took place in 1997 when i was
lucky to have one guiding towards
me looking for meaning.
It started with just the words:
hey lets look up the word VIKING in
the leksikons.
From there on it was the nordic gods that´s dominated my seight seeing a whole lota TOR endings in our vocabulary, which got me thinking of the meaning of the words starting with ator all the way to ztor and ending up with a view that control and movement as something is in movement with elevator or motor.
All in all for me a presence of something powerfull and mysterius.
I could go on on with my rambling
but i will rather send you a realy long email if you like that.?:-)
So in short in 1997 i started to think towards today.
I don´t know if i´d should say that
i unfortunatly do not share your positive way of aproaching life,cos
anger must be used to wake people up,i think.
That we should mix the good with bad and thereby confronting the presence of evil,not hiding him away,he has his comfortzone in the shadows.
The anger is an anagram(vreden) taken from the word the world VERDEN in danish which also makes the words turns and tore down...
just a quick show/arning hihi of what what you´ll agreing to if so.
The numbers you know about already.
:-)
With signs of the times
Mike
Mike, thanks for sharing your religious roots focusing on the "tor" endings in Danish words. I love words a great deal, perhaps more than anyone should, but, as you yourself know, words are rich and, I believe, possess mystical or transcedent qualities.
ReplyDeleteI respect what you say about anger. To a point I agree that a certain righteous anger or indignation, is essential, especially to accomplish social change. I myself, however, don't deal with anger well, whether other people's or my own, so that's why I try to focus on calm, tranquil solutions to as many problems as possible. But, of course, at times one has to assert oneself a bit so people won't take advantage of oneself or of others who one cares about. Have a great week.
Hey Raul
ReplyDeleteIt was not just in danish i then "saw" something...also in english and just recently i learnt that those in english in spanish end with DOR instead.
I understand your points regarding anger and think its a nice aproach to the subject,seeing in before out.
Although being aware of the dangers
with anger,we can control it, i think.
If the ego is angry ,it should not
react outwards,but is it the self
being angry ,i think there should be an outwards reaction.
The love for words can never be to
much,cos i think the biggest puzzle
can be solved (with)in them. :-)
My week started very bad yesterday
evening when i was playing soccer and got a knee between my legs causing a night without sleep,
and koncekvensly ,hihi, me sleeping
to late and therefore not calling in sick at the work i just accepted
to take yesterday.
To this point i still havent called
to tell what happend cos in my heart i do not want to be inslaved
by money.
I do have savings to live without
an income one month or so,so
maybee its times for my longlasting dream to live one day at the time,
only focussing on the "now" and not tomorrow, to be realized.
The weather is fine so living on the street is not that a scary thought to me.
The presure of being "free" should
not be that hard with love in the
heart for earth,don´t you agree ?
Taking the bad as the good, i wish you a nice week to. :-)
I take it that you are not interested in a realy long email. ?:-)
Mike, I hope you are feeling better regarding your knee. I hope you don't quit your job since I hear it's cold for the most part in Denmark. To be honest, about emails, I don't like emails, as I get too many and don't answer the ones I get. But please feel free to continue communicating via this blog, if that is your desire. Again, God bless and take care of yourself.
ReplyDelete