A Controllable Spirit
The Spirit Will Make You…
Defining What We Know About Spiritual Warfare – Part 6
I don’t want to get too far off course on this topic of spirits, but if I don’t make this distinction what would happen is something that I hate most. I hate when people misrepresent my God and you should hate it when someone misrepresents yours. I have seen many times where people paint an incomplete picture of God’s spirit (a.k.a. Holy Spirit, Holy Ghost, The Spirit, etc.). I’ve seen people say and even practice actions that are more demonic than godly in the name of God’s Spirit. I have yet to find even a shred of proof, evidence, or references where God’s spirit took control of a person to such a degree that that person was out of control. Even if there were a reference of sorts, then it would be the exception not the standard. Today I wish to cancel this normal, common, everyday belief that God’s Spirit will take control of you in an uncontrollable way.
There’s an old song we used to sing in my home church (Baptist church). It says…
It’ll make you move, the Holy Ghost will.
It’ll make you shout, the Holy Ghost will.
It’ll make you cry, the Holy Ghost will.
Pause for a moment and think about these phrases. Not one of them is what the Bible paints of what happens when impacted by His Spirit. If this is the case, and it is, then what people do in prayer and what they say is God’s Spirit, is off. Before you write us off, remember this is next-level prayer and you don’t have to go to the next level. You are more than welcome to stay right where you are.
To help us get a better feeling of what God’s Spirit really looks like, we want to offer four outcomes one can expect having God’s Spirit in his or her life, specifically as it relates to prayer. While we would love to give you more, four is enough to get you to think differently.
The Spirit will make you better.
Having God’s spirit in your life doesn’t equate to one becoming only more spiritual, but rather becoming better at being physical. One of the first places found in your Bible where the Spirit of God shows is not (contrary to what we normally believe) in the New Testament of the Bible. In fact, there was a man who’s name was Bezalel who was filled with God’s Spirit (The Holy Spirit, Holy Ghost, Spirit of God) which made him a SME (subject matter expert) in his trade, artistry using gold, silver, and bronze. He was considered the best in his field because of God’s Spirit. [1] Therefore, the Spirit of God will improve your natural abilities, making you uncommon.
The Spirit will make you move, make you shout… How about The Spirit will make you better?
The Spirit will teach you everything you need to know.
Listen to what the Master Teacher had to say when He described the Holy Spirit (God’s Spirit, Holy Ghost, Spirit of God). He said that not only will the Holy Spirit be your advocate, but this spirit will teach you and me everything and remind us of everything He has spoken to us.[2] Imagine this. The Spirit will make you move, make you shout… How about The Spirit will teach you everything you need to know?
The Spirit will give you power.
In the book known for Holy Spirit extremeness like speaking in tongues, we’ve found that most people have an incomplete understanding. This lesson isn’t intended to get into speaking or talking in tongues which is mistaken as praying in your heaven language. Tongues are not the language of Heaven. At any rate, this is next level prayer which means we’re not talking about the things we understand or misunderstand, but rather how to take what we already know to the next level.
It says “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.”[3] You will receive “power.” Do you know what “power” is? It’s something intangible, but marks your life as different and unexplainable. It means you are not powerless. When it comes to life, you have power. When it comes to challenges you have power. When it comes to working, you have power. When it comes to loving, you have power. When it comes to your marriage, you have power. I think you get it. You’re not powerless, but you have power.
The Spirit will make you move, make you shout… How about The Spirit will give you power?
The Spirit will make us more like God.
While there are many passages available regarding God’s spirit, none of them support our default understanding of what the Spirit of God does for us. This forth and final outcome we’ve chosen to share sums up all of what’s available to us through God’s spirit. Paul, who planted many of the first Christian churches best described God’s spirit as God, Himself. “The Lord is the Spirit.” It’s the Spirit of the Lord that makes freedom available.[4] Freedom from what? Freedom from anything that enslaves us and keeps us from being like Him. His spirit is what gives us the ability to be like Him. I call that becoming uncommon. God’s Spirit is the spirit that makes us unlike anyone else. Unique. In a class of our own. A masterpiece. Exceptional in all we do.
The Spirit will make you move, make you shout… How about The Spirit will make us more like God?
In our previous lesson we talked about “The Uncontrollable Spirit.” In the descriptions we’ve offered above, you can see a pattern. That pattern is that God’s Spirit is everything, but out of control or produces results in us that make us appear out of control. God’s spirit doesn’t cause a person to lose control. Rather, His Spirit makes us better, teaches us everything we need to know, gives us power, and makes us more like God. When we encounter His Spirit the goal is to let the Spirit control our mind to produce Godly results in our natural lives.[5] It’s not everyday that you hear His Spirit described like this. So I’ve decided to rewrite that old song. The rewrite goes like this…
He’ll make you better, the Holy Ghost will.
He’ll make you wiser, the Holy Spirit will.
He’ll make you powerful, God’s Spirit will.
He’ll make you like God, The Spirit of the Lord will.
These are examples of His Spirit that fuels us when we pray. This is next level prayer.
Question: what misconceptions would you be willing to share as it relates to God’s Spirit?
[1] Exodus 35:30-35 NKJV, Bible.com, accessed January 19, 2023, https://www.bible.com/bible/114/EXO.35.30-35.NKJV
[2] John 14:26 NLT, Bible.com, accessed January 19, 2023, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/JHN.14.26.NLT
[3] Acts of the Apostles 1:8 NLT, Bible.com, accessed January 19, 2023, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/ACT.1.8.NLT
[4] 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 NLT, Bible.com, accessed January 19, 2023, http://bible.com/116/2co.3.17-18.NLT
[5] Romans 8:6 NLT, Bible.com, accessed January 19, 2023, http://bible.com/116/2co.3.17-18.NLT
All Scripture references used by permission, see our Scripture copyrights.
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