So how can you worship God in Spirit and in truth and have rivers of living water without the Baptism of the Spirit? You cannot!
John 4:19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”
21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 7:37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Acts 1:4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Acts 2: 1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 19: 1 And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples2 he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?”
So they said, “Into John’s baptism.”
4 Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”
5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.7 Now the men were about twelve in all.
Jesus said it is more beneficial for us to have the PERSON of the Holy Spirit than it was to have Jesus present with us in His physical body!
John 16:5 “But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me;10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
WE WORSHIP GOD IN THE SPIRIT, REJOICE IN CHRIST JESUS, AND HAVE NO CONFIDENCE IN THE FLESH
Philippians 3:
1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.
2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation!3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so:5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee;6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Pressing Toward the Goal
12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.
Our Citizenship in Heaven
17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame — who set their mind on earthly things.20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
Be Filled With the Holy Ghost
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God (Ephesians 5:18-21).
Having received the Holy Spirit after you’re born again, there’s a day-to-day or continual infilling of the Spirit that you must experience in order to live the higher life of glory to which you’ve been called. The latter part of our opening scripture lets us know what to do to be filled with the Spirit like this: you’ll have to speak to yourself in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs! You’ll have to consciously talk, sing, and make melody of the Word, in your heart, to the Lord! You’ll have to give thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and submit yourself to others in holy reverence. Making this a conscious and consistent practice is how to be full of the Spirit all the time.
When you let the Holy Spirit work through you and you’re overflowing with His fullness, you won’t need to try to muster boldness to say or do things. You won’t need to try to stir up some power in the face of adversity. Whenever you open your mouth to speak, you’ll speak the wisdom of God; words that are divinely inspired, because you’re full of the Holy Ghost.
If you want the greater glory of God to be seen in your life; if you want to walk in dominion over the devil, sickness, disease, infirmities and death, then you must consciously and consistently practice being filled with the Spirit these remaining days of October. Make this a personal goal from today, and the challenges that may come your way will be walkovers for you, and nothing will be impossible unto you. You’ll be able to change hopeless situations and walk in God’s increased glory because you’re full of the Holy Ghost and power. Hallelujah!
..the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. —Luke 12:7, NLT
If God bothers to keep track of how many hairs you have on your head, then there is no symptom, no discomfort and no condition in your body that He doesn’t know of or care about. Nothing that has ever happened to you escapes God’s notice. To Him, whether it’s an aching back or a troubled relationship with your colleague, no matter how trivial or commonplace it sounds, if it bothers you, He wants to take care of it! His love for you is all-encompassing, personal and in-depth. Beloved, there is nothing in your body or life that is too small that you can’t bring to Him and watch Him take care of. Bring your needs to Him today and experience His abundant provision! Amen!
Victory Ministries 