Ephesians 5:15-21 15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.
The will of the Lord is to be filled with the Spirit.
Many of us are filled with the Spirit of God and it is beautiful! But too many Christians stay and linger at that reality, they never go further!
What is it to go further?
To stir up and cause the Spirit of God to come upon us and then maintaining that glow.
There is a difference between the Spirit within us and the Spirit upon us. We, now in the NT, have the Spirit within us which means that we have the ability through our spiritual disciplines to cause and stir the Holy Spirit to come upon us!
Luke 4:18-19 – THE SIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME BECAUSE HE HAS ANOINTED ME.
Acts 1:8 -BUT YOU SHALL RECEIVE POWER WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT COMES UPON YOU THEN YOU SHALL BE WITNESSES!
When the Holy Spirit comes upon me then will I have supernatural power to do what is needed.
I can cause the Holy Spirit to come upon me, simply by applying certain disciplines in my life!
When the Spirit comes upon me, how do I maintain that glow? How do I maintain that light? How do I maintain the presence of Christ around me?
How do I stay aglow with the Spirit of God?
Romans 12:10-11 10 “Love one another with brotherly affection [as members of one family], giving precedence and showing honour to one another. 11 Never lag (be slothful) in zeal and in earnest endeavour; be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving the Lord.”
1.) PASSION
The scripture says that we must never lag in zeal! We must never be slothful in zeal/passion!
The commentators say that we must not be lazy in our zeal, Christians are not to go backward, but forward.
Slothful = to loath, to be slow, to be hesitant, to delay!
Zeal = to boil with heat, be hot, a boiling fiery passion!
First of all we must have a zeal, a passion, God Himself is clothed in a cloak of zeal.
Only when we have passion, then we graduate to stay aglow with the spirit, fervent, fiery!
Passion is the first key and quality needed in order to stay aglow with the Spirit of God!
God loves it when we have passion, and passion can cause Gods hand to move despite our disposition and circumstances and lack of theology!
Nicodemus was so passionate and hungry for Jesus that he secretly went by night to meet with Him, he had to find a way!
Peter was so passionate that he completely forgot about his past and stood up and preached in boldness! Raised people from the dead and introduced salvation to the gentiles!
Cornelius was so passionate that even though he was a gentile he still sought the face of God, the bible says he was a devout man! Cornelius applied principles in his life of prayer fasting and studying of the word of God coupled with passion which brought a major encounter to him and his household!
Rom 12:11 “Don’t be lazy in showing your devotion. Use your energy to serve the Lord. ” (GWT)
1 Tim 4:7-8 “But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness.”
The word exercise was originally use in ancient times to describe someone who exercised with no clothes on, totally naked! Why? This would eliminate all restrictions, all hindrances, nothing would limit your development! This is the picture of someone developing themselves into the best minister they can possibly be and becoming a delight to Jesus!!! This will not happen by accident! We will need to make a decision to exercise spiritually until we become the best at what we are called to do for Christ!
What godly disciplines can I apply to exercise myself towards godliness?
- THE DISCIPLINE OF PRAYER
The effective fervent/fiery/passionate prayer of a righteous man avails much.
The mantle and power of God does not fall upon the prayer less!
Elisha was praying while he received the mantle!
Jesus was praying while baptized in the spirit
Paul was praying while baptized in the spirit
Cornelius was praying when an angel visited him!
- THE DISCIPLINE OF FASTING
I have no doubt in my mind that the only way we can receive the power of God is through applying fasting!
Jesus said this kind only comes out by prayer and fasting! But we forget to read the verse just before this one.
Matthew 17:20-21 20 “So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief;[a] for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting”
Nothing is impossible to those who believe and fast! We must fast, fasting can cause the impossible to become possible for you!
- THE DISCIPLINE OF STUDYING THE WORD
The word will save your soul!
The word will approve you as a minister of God!
The word is the very foundation of our Christian life!
The word is Christ himself!
Without passion, these disciplines of fasting, prayer and word will only bring religion and become mundane!
How do I get my passion back!
Repentance brings back my passion and then I can apply the Godly disciplines!
2 Co 7:11 “For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.”
Paul was saying here in the above verse that he is exceedingly happy because of the repentance of the Corinthian church. He said that he could see the zeal in their lives! Our zeal and passion will return because of our repentance!
Rev 2:4-5 4 “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.”
Here in the above verse Jesus is saying that if we have lost our passion then we must firstly repent and then do those first works which we did when we just got saved, those endless hours of studying the word and prayer simply because we were in love with Him.
I want my passion to return!
In His Love,
Leon du Preez
This was an eye opener! Earlier today i ask LJ to give me a sign of hope and a sign that He hears my prayers. I believe i got my answer just now. I had so many unanswer questions and i was on the verge of giving up i truely was and your link came up on fb. Thank You LJ for using fb to open my eyes and giving me new hope. Amen.
Dear Michelle, I am so blessed to hear that you were touched. I feel in my spirit to lift u up in prayer right now! Always remember, never give up, never give up, never give up! Winston Churchill said that! God bless you
Wow. This is something that i needed to read. Thank you very much.
At times we do not realize that to return to the original self when we met God the first time, does progress us in the later stages of our lives according to Rev. 2… if we do not repent!. Thank you. To hear that again did make a difference to me in my mind set today to understand what God requires of me. Be blessed
Hey Leon,
Thank you for this breakdown, It is just what I needed to read. I am struggling so much to grow and re-gain that hunger I first had for our loving father. I want to break free of all bonds of the flesh and just be covered with his Holy Spirit and walk with passion and his fire every second of every day. Thank you so much for this my friend, you have no idea how reading this repeatedly is going to change me.
Amen.. indeed is wat we lack as christians today,we are easy to judge,pride, wasting time trying to please people around us, moved by circumstances,situations. forget to honor this Almight for his blessing, we only praise ourself by saying we have made it by our own power. Lord we surrender all unto u, we are ur children guide us , circumcise our heart ,soul, mind annoint us afresh,,, Amen in jesus name we hav pray
Have been struggling to grow spiritually, i needed this, thank you
Thank you. This helped allot.
My experience with the Holy Spirit has been a “lifestyle” of repentance (change your mind and think like Christ) and to speak to Him constantly, like a lover, for He is the lover of my soul. Remain in a posture of humilty and submission to every circumstance the Lord brings. I promise you, He will blow your mind and you will never be the same again.
In His Service.
Cheryl
Very powerful and authoritive.Hebrews 4:12 – For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
never underestimate the power and authority that Gods word holds!! Bless you all in this amazing ministry God has blessed you with.