Many Christians reach a point where they hunger for more. Like the scent of delicious food coming through a window, they sense there is something delicious, something more to the Christian walk than what they’ve been satisfied with up to the present.
I felt that in my own walk with Jesus years ago.
Having grown up in denominational churches where the name of the Holy Spirit was simply used in blessings at certain ritual moments and at the end of the service, I became more aware of Him and wanted more. I wanted to know the Holy Spirit and walk in the Spirit. I may not have framed it so explicitly then, but I knew something was missing.
Thank goodness I began to seek and search. I was baptized in the Holy Spirit in a prayer meeting and then I knew the “before” and “after” of being Spirit-filled very distinctly. With the flood of the Spirit’s presence into my life, I found wonderful, empowered and enlivened life after that. I became so exquisitely God-sensitive and aware of the presence of the Lord.
I also became so much more sensitive to sin. Having the glorious presence of the Holy Spirit with me caused me to want to avoid, at all costs, grieving the Spirit (Eph. 4:30) or quenching the Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19). The warmth and intimacy with God, the revelation of Scripture in a new way, the power and gifts and so much more—I did not want to ever lose any of that!
Jesus gives us authority to walk like Him in this world, healing and preaching and teaching in His name, but it is a holy authority. If we’re going to maintain intimacy with Him and exert His power into our homes, communities and nations, we need to pursue holiness and be wholly surrendered to Christ.
A woman who is known as “The Barefoot Warrior,” Melinda Tarcon, of northern Alberta, Canada, has plenty to say on boldness, surrender and holiness in our lives with Christ. For more on her wisdom from God and insights into moving from mediocre Christianity into holy authority, listen to Episode 50 of Rooted by the Stream with Dr. Pam Morrison on the Charisma Podcast Network. {eoa}
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