Sweet Influences of the Spirit

Sweet Influences of the Spirit

John 15:26Amplified Bible (AMP)

26 “But when the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of Truth who comes from the Father, He will testify and bear witness about Me.

We soak, we sow, and then the Spirit flows! This is how we experience God’s power in our lives.
Many Christians today have heard about the Holy Spirit, but they have not encountered him in a life-changing way. When we first ask Jesus into our lives, the Holy Spirit flows his life into our mortal bodies. The Spirit’s work begins in us when we first receive Christ into our lives: “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11, ESV). This sets the stage for us to flow with the Spirit in our everyday lives. It is the Holy Spirit that gives us the power to overcome the sinful impulses of the flesh and the lures of the world that cause us to spend too much time on perishable aspects of this life.
This concept is so exciting because it takes us into a realm not bounded by the limitations of the world we see now. There is no limit to what God can do! No wonder Paul prayed, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20). This is the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. No perceived earthly power can possibly be compared to this.
When we allow the Holy Spirit to control us, his power flows through us. The Holy Spirit is the only one who can make the converterlating process a reality in our lives. He is the One who enables us to participate with God to accomplish his work. Flowing with the Spirit is the supernatural outcome of soaking and sowing to the Spirit. It is the outcome of our relationship with God. The Holy Spirit is the divine power source, releasing the life and power of God into our lives when we are properly connected to him.
All of these truths become a reality in our lives when the Holy Spirit seals, reveals, and deals with us. The Holy Spirit first seals us at the point of our spiritual birth, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13, ESV, emphasis added). In Bible times, a seal was a type of security. It was typically used to guarantee a document or letter, indicate ownership, or protect against tampering. The Holy Spirit is our seal in every sense of this word; we are guaranteed, owned, and protected!The assurance that we experience because of the Holy Spirit’s seal sets us free to be Converterlators in the time we have remaining in this temporary world.
After the Holy Spirit seals us, he begins to reveal the things of God to us. In 1 Corinthians 2:10–16 we read:

These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.
The Holy Spirit opens our hearts to spiritual truth. This gives us the ability to both understand and respond to God’s calling as we converterlate our time, talent, and treasure.
As the Holy Spirit reveals the things of God to us, he also deals with us. Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life” (John 6:63, ESV). We choose to live under his control. It is through the Holy Spirit that God works in us and through us, “For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13). It is the Holy Spirit’s power that allows us to serve God’s purposes in God’s way.
When we flow with the Spirit we experience his power as we navigate our way through everyday decisions and experiences: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1:8). It is the Holy Spirit that guides our lives daily: “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25, ESV).
When we invite the Holy Spirit to guide and direct and lead us, he shows up in a big way! He transforms us and everything that we do … including our converterlating! He fills us daily and equips us for service. He gives us joy and excitement and fulfillment. He draws us into a deeper relationship with God. He gives us insight into God’s Word. He leads us to victorious living. The effective Converterlator is filled with the Holy Spirit and depends on his power and wisdom to accomplish all that God desires!
If you truly allow the Holy Spirit to flow in your life, how might your converterlating be changed, focused, or redirected?