Are You Filled with the Holy Spirit?
Lately, I have been questioning the belief that saved Christians are filled with the Holy Spirit. In my own experience, I have had some peaks when I believed that I was close to God and felt the leading of the Holy Spirit. But in the same post I talk about valleys when my faith struggles. Where is the Holy Spirit in these times?
When I accepted Christ into my life, I expected help in defeating my burdens and living in this world. But I am unable to say that this has happened. I have defeated many of my sins and reduced others. But there are a few that I cannot beat back. I plead, search and pray for help but it does not come. The Lord certainly could strengthen my will and my desire to stop sinning, but I feel like I am on my own in this battle.
In my dealings with other Christians, I do not see the Holy Spirit either. Take Yes2truth. This is a Christian who when I pleaded for help instead took his time and effort to pick apart and bash me and my struggles. He calls me "totally misguided and deceived", "our wretched friend", and "the deluded soul". Boy now that is the Love of Christ. Luckily Mr. Yes2 says "I will contact the deluded soul who wrote the above article and try and lift him from his self inflicted misery." The post he is referring to is "My Burden is Light"....
...Anyway, I started this post almost two years ago and I am publishing it anyway. I was so discouraged by his harsh tone, I stopped blogging. I still have trouble feeling the Holy Spirit within me, but I will continue to worship, praise, pray, and seek throughout my life and today.
6 Comments:
You say that you once experienced the closeness and leading of the spirit, but now you don't. The fact that you currently feel a lack is a sign that you were genuinely touched. The fact that you posted this on your blog means that you do have a genuine thirst. This means that the spirit is at work within you.
Do you worship regularly with other spirit filled Christians? This will help.
I also recommend a book that I am reading these days. It is called "The Annointing" by Benny Hinn. It is a wonderful book about how the Holy Spirit can lead you.
There is this website that contains a testimony of a person who walked with God and yet experienced powerlessness and failure, and later discovered the key to the heart of God. The URL is http://www.risenlordcommunity.org
Finally, remember that the Holy Spirit is a gift from God. A Gift that God wants to give you - not deny you or hold back. As you kneel and pray, claim the promise of Jesus and ask for a fresh leading - for the thirst within you is sign that the Spirit is at already work in you.
I will uphold you in prayer.
I JUST FINISHED READING YOUR BLOG. I HAVE BEEN IN THE SAME VALLEY YOU ARE IN.YES IT IS A VERY DRY PLACE, BUT IF YOU KEEP ON LEANING ON JESUS HE WILL LEAD YOU OUT OF THAT VALLEY AND YOU WILL BE MUCH STRONGER THAN BEFORE. YOU HAVE A THIRST FOR MORE OF GOD AND THE BIBLE SAYS THAT HE WILL FILL THE HUNGRY SOUL.
I have the same problem, but only a prayer of faith can fix it. I don't know how to use my faith in receiving this filling, so I'm left comfortless and miserable in my path to God. A simple prayer can change it all, but you must trust God with your being in doing so. I very badly want to be filled, but without the knowledge of how to use what little faith I have, I'm hopeless.
When you are a genuine christian the holy spirit lives within you. The bible tells us that this journey we are on is one of faith, you must believe that God is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. This means if you seek him you will find him.
Sometimes we feel good, bad or distant but it has nothing whatsoever to do with our relationship with God because this is a journey by faith and nothing can seperate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.
The Holy Spirit drew you to Christ then it makes you want to do his will, the bible says it also helps you to do God's will but you must make the decision to be obedient to God and to stay away from sin. By the simple fact that you feel bad about your sins shows the Holy Spirit is at work within you.
Satan tries to make us feel guilty all the time, like we are not good enough but remember that Jesus interceeds constantly for us.
Being a christian is not easy. To be an effective christian and endure to the end you must really want to please God, He knows the heart. But ask yourself "Do I love Him enough to make that decision NOT to sin (to be obedient to his word), The Holy spirit is already in you waiting to help you to carry that decision out.
If you make that decision you will find that your whole life changes, your focus would change from looking at yourself to looking at Jesus. You will then be living in the spirit. It will not be easy, the bible states that the road that leads to eternal life is narrow but the Lord said to me one night the rewards are so glorious it cannot be stated in human terms.
I will keep you in prayer.
Dear fellow brothers and sisters,
I have never done this before so I hope I am doing it right but I wanted to share a few things that may be helpful. There are no simple solutions or formulas to solve spiritual problems and struggles, but as we "work out" our salvation, we will always find help in the truth of the Bible. The truth sets us free when we "know it." Sometimes there is something slightly off in our understanding of truth or theology. I have been in churches that believed that the gifts and manifestations of the Holy Spirit passed with the apostles, and I have been in churches that allowed complete freedom for these things to happen. I have had powerful experiences and touches from God that had me so excited that I couldn't stop talking about it or sharing this with others, but the reality is that after these experiences wear off, every believer has to make the right choices and live their life based on their understanding of the truth - there are no shortcuts. Often times it is through our pain that we experience a greater desire to know God and trust him in every aspect of our lives. Recently I have been learning new things from Romans 6 about freedom from sin. If we can't progressively grow in our faith and personal holiness, Christianity will become disappointing and frustrating. We must learn what the Bible teaches about overcoming the power of sin. I suggest that you look into a website that offers materials directed at Romans 6 theology at http://www.gracefellowshipintl.com
/ie_home.htm
On the left side of the site under online resources is a document called "To Live is Christ" - click on that then click on the little icon of the booklet and it will download a free PDF file that I think you will find is really helpful. I hope this helps you - don't give up, keep reaching out and asking for prayer and help. I believe God will help you find answers.
Grace and peace to you all
At the moment I am also going through the very same experience. This is a very good message for me as i get the assurence from the Lord that he is with me! I worship every week with other spirit filled christians. I am also worried with some sins that I commit over and over again and feel I have fallen short of the expectations of the Lord.I woule like to read the book by Benny Hinn
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