|
|
|
|
||||
| HOME PAGE | ABOUT | ITINERARY | OVERFLOW SIGN-UP | |||
| CONTACT US | PRAYER FOCUS | PRODUCTS | ||||
| INTERCESSORS' CORNER | OVERFLOW ARTICLES | 24-7 PRAY USA SIGN-UP | ||||
|
Holy Spirit Fullness! By Bobbie Jean Merck
Because I don't want you to become discouraged, I offer this prayer to the Father who has given his name to the whole family of God both in heaven and on earth.
May he give you an infusion of strength in the depths of your being by the Spirit. I pray that your trust will enable Christ to settle down in you so that you will be grounded in love.
I hope that you will be able to grasp with all God-persons the multidimensional love of God ~ a love broad enough to include everybody, long enough to reach to the ends of the earth, deep enough to unify our human fragmentation, and high enough to reach the very heart of God.
Actually, I want you to know the love of Christ which is beyond knowing. Experiencing love like this, may you be overwhelmed with the awareness of the presence of God.
Now to God, who can do by the power that exists in us greater things than we are able even to imagine or request, to him be the fulfillment he intended through Christ Jesus, now and always. Amen.
Some authority on the health and well-being of a human being when asked years ago a question relating to this subject responded, “The saddest word in the English language or in any language is ‘vacuum.’” Alex Tolstoi stated thusly in relation to the saddest word in the English language, “The saddest in all the world, the word that has brought the worlds to its present state is ‘atheism.’” The words “vacuum” and “atheism” speak of emptiness. I am reminded of my own journey in life longing to have the “emptiness of the abyss” of my being filled with the presence of God. Yes, I was in church every time the doors were opened. Memories of singing “Fishers of Men,” and “I’ve Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down in My Heart” and other choruses when I was about three years of age in my grandfather’s church are precious to me. At the same time, I began to desire to play the piano in church when I grew up. When I was seven I went with my grandfather and grandmother and aunt (who was two years older than me) to a Catholic hospital where my aunt’s tonsils and adenoids were removed. Why did I go? I don’t know. But God…. My little heart was completely impressed watching the nuns being busy about their business of nursing. When I went home I would wear a towel around my head and play the role of “being a nun.” Yes, I gave my heart to the Lord when I was seven. But as I grew older I realized there was an emptiness, a vacuum in my life that nothing could fill but God. That emptiness and vacuum was completely filled to overflowing fullness when I was baptized in the Holy Spirit September 21, 1969. During these almost 35 years, I have experienced overflowing fullness in continued intimate fellowship with my Lord – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. When one is empty and has an inward vacuum, one is incapable of fulfilling the good desires of their hearts and good opportunities that God brings to them. One cannot, because of inner emptiness which means inner inability and inadequacy. How many Christians are living the principle of atheism – having no vital, daily contact with God? A continued, daily time spent in fellowship with God is necessary to maintain the fullness of God within the born again believer. As the branch continues to draw sap from the vine if it would remain alive, vibrant, and productive, so must the Christian continue to do so with Christ. Atheism rejects the idea of God. Therefore atheism also means to live without a vital contact with God. We are to be filled with the fullness of God. Paul reveals that the fullness of God within is the direct result and fruit of knowing by intimacy and experience the agape-love of God. The Holy Spirit is the One Who sheds abroad – fills our lives - with this love. We must continuously “be filled with the Holy Spirit” to experience God within. If we are not, then the experience of God is only an external experience through head-knowledge, with outward acts of work and worship alone. We then live life with the idea that we possess God. The ultimate importance and purpose is not that we possess God, but that He possesses us. Only then can we understand and experience His fullness and His full supply for living life. When we live in vital contact with Him, life ceases to be our responsibility and becomes our response to His ability – His fullness. Such a life produces the fullness of maturity. The days ahead require being filled with His fullness. His manifested presence within (our knowing, experiencing, and being aware of this) is our fullness. His absence (not knowing, experiencing nor having an awareness of His presence) within is our emptiness and makes our lives a vacuum. Because the things of this world are temporal, they are temporary in satisfying a human being. How often have we found ourselves using our time to advance in achieving success, things, approval of man, and pleasure as the world provides, and then when “bad things happen to good people,” or we see bad things happening in increasing and devastating measures, then fear grips the heart and because emptiness in our relationship with God is in our lives, helplessness and hopelessness moves in like a dense, gray fog. Are we prepared for the future? Do we have the strength of Christ in our lives? To ensure this requires a daily feasting at His table of rich blessings that fill the soul with His presence. Paul certainly had reason to test and to taste life in every opposing trial that could come. He knew the value of being “strengthened with all might by the Holy Spirit in the inner man.” He knew that he must have God’s grace to live life in adverse circumstances. Let us hear, believe, and receive his words, “Structure your time productively. Get a clear grasp of God’s intention for you. Don’t drink wine excessively, but rather drink deeply of the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:16-18 Heart of Paul). The King James Version of Ephesians 5:16 reads, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” The war is on. I repeatedly see the vision I had February 29, 2004 in San Jose, California. Two clouds formed over the Pacific Ocean at the shoreline. One was gross darkness, the other was a cloud of glory beyond imagination. They began to move side by side from the West Coast to the East Coast, then north to south. The line was clearly drawn: Good and evil. Later I thought of Isaiah 60. Today I am reminded of John 10:10. “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Let us choose Jesus! Let us surrender our all to Him! Let us fill our lives with His fellowship and presence. “…don’t get hooked into your old lifestyle. When you were an outsider, you were closed to God’s presence, but now you are transparent to him and aware of his presence.” “From this time on, then, let us look at others not with our limited human insight. Although we have perceived Christ humanly, let us no longer look at him that way. Because if any person has been joined with Christ in this new relationship of death and life, he or she is a new person; the old way of looking at life has passed away, and from this new perspective everything has become fresh and new. This new life and new perspective comes from God who has brought us back to himself in Jesus Christ and then has given us the task of announcing that all things have been put right between us and him (Ephesians 5:7,9; 2 Corinthians 5:16-18 Heart of Paul). Let us pray without ceasing and pray in tongues without ceasing. Remember at all times, “But those who listen to me will live in safety. They will be safe, without fear of being hurt” (Proverbs 1:33 The Everyday Bible). Practice His presence and these four things found in Philippians 1:19-20: Prayer, Holy Spirit, earnest expectation and hope, “For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed….” Be blessed! His LOVE will drive out all fear! His Holy Spirit will be your all-in-all for every need! Righteousness, peace, and joy in His Holy Spirit manifested presence is yours! Receive! Amen.
|
||
|
HOME PAGE ABOUT CONTACT US INTERCESSORS' CORNER ITINERARY PRAYER FOCUS |
||