But it’s a choice whether we act in response to reality or in accordance with faith. Moses might also have run out of his supplies. Yet as for himself, he decides to trust God and His promises throughout the journey. He was not troubled by the hardships of wilderness because he had his heart fixed upon God, His wonders, and promises.

Not seeing the promises of God in His word fulfilled in our lives, we may be tempted to complain and grudge against God. I myself have challenged God to show Himself in my situations several times and have been angry with God several times in the past. But this did not change my situation. In these days, I have realized that we have two options:

• Complain to God for reality
• Keep Believing in the promises and faithfulness of God.

Each individual gets to choose what she/he will do.

It was logical for Israelites to complain to their leaders Moses and Aaron. However, there is another dangerous reason behind their complaining: the lack of faith among them. Their heart was fixed upon the needs and things of the Earth. Their heart was fixed They did not desire to live in fellowship with God, as Moses did. They got each one of their desires fulfilled but at the cost of a relationship with their LORD. What benefit is it, when we get everything except the relationship with God? Ultimately, they could not enter into the land of promise (Heb. 3:19). We are easily distracted by the cares of life if we are satisfied living on the fringes of the presence/glory of God.

We are easily distracted by the cares of life if we are satisfied living on the fringes of the presence/glory of God.

Jesus Himself is the author and finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2). Each one of us has the promises and will of God for our lives. We may not get a call as Moses got but we still can have the relationship that Moses had with God. From the life of the heroes of faith in the Bible, we understand that Great Faith is Persevering Faith. They persevered long enough to see the promise of God fulfilled in their lives. We too need to stand patiently in our faith for us to fulfill the will and promises of God in our lives (Hebrews 10:36). But how do we do that?

Great Faith is Persevering Faith.

The more we listen to the rhema word of Christ, the stronger we become in faith (Romans 10:17). So how can we listen to the rhema word of Christ? The more time we spend with Him personally, the more we wait silently in His presence, meditating His word, the more we know Him (Psalms 46:10).

It may seem logical to get intimidated with God for the perils we may be going through. But it takes faith to stand in the promises of God irrespective of realities. Will you choose the path of faith with perseverance or question God with your logic?

God made a covenant with Abraham. His children will be the source of blessing to the world (Gen 22:18). After almost 430 years of slavery in Egypt, God gave the law. People could not obey the law. They were constantly sinning. There was no way they could walk right with God. So, God promised to give His Spirit to the people. His own Spirit will enable them to walk right with Him and enable them to obey His commandments (Ezekiel 36: 26-28). Through Jesus Christ, we (gentiles) are partakers of the blessing that was promised to Abraham (Gal 3:14, Acts 2:39). So, by faith in Jesus Christ, we are the children of Abraham. The blessings and promises of God are for you and me as well. The greatest blessing of God is Jesus Christ Himself (Romans 6:23). And the greatest promise of God is the promise of His dwelling among us and in us (Isa 57:15, Rev 21:3).

The blessings of God are for you and me as well.

So, it is only through the power of the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit / the Spirit of Jesus) we can live right with God and be the witness of Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8). The fruit of the Holy Spirit is His fruit. We cannot have them on our own will and efforts. The best we can do for ourselves is to live in fellowship with Him. Therefore, we constantly need to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18) and live as He directs us (Gal 5:16). We cannot live on our “10 years ago experience”. Those experiences are good only for story-telling. We need to have an encounter with God every day. He gives us life and joy and direction and peace and strength we need. Jesus’s ministry was the outcome of His relationship with God the father (John 5:19-20, 5:30). God had anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and power (Acts 10:38). Every event surrounding the life and ministry of Jesus Christ involved the work of the Holy Spirit.

God had anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and power (Acts 10:38).

The other man in the Bible who was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb was John, the Baptist. His life is an inspiration to many of us. He made way the long-awaited Messiah. The most notable tasks he did were urging people to repent, introducing them to Christ (“Behold the lamb…”), uplifting Jesus Christ and boldly confronting the bad practices of the contemporary society. If the son of God and a person sent by God needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit, how much more do we need?

Below I have briefly listed some of the instances of people being filled with the Holy Spirit in my Bible:

1. Zechariah (Prophesied after being filled with the Holy Spirit; Luke 1:67)
2. 120 disciples of Christ (Day of Pentecost; Acts 2:4): declared the great works of God by speaking in tongues, boldly proclaimed the word of God (Peter), boldly preached the gospel that led to the addition of more than 3000 and 5000 (Acts 4:4) people in the body of Christ, were able to live in unity and harmony while caring for each other’s needs, lived in fear of God and demonstrated miracles and signs (Acts 2:43, Acts 3:8)
3. Believers (Boldly proclaimed the word of God; Acts 4:31): Lived in Unity (Acts 4:32), Rejoiced even in the midst of persecution (Acts 5:41), Powerfully witnessed Jesus (Acts 5:33)
4. Stephen (Acts 6:8): was full of the Holy Spirit, power, faith, wisdom, and grace and did great miracles and signs, spoke the word of God so boldly and wisely (Acts 6:10), Forgave his murderers (Acts 7:56), Saw the glory of God and the vision of Jesus Christ (Acts 7:55)
5. Household of Cornelius (Acts 10:45): Praised God with speaking in tongues
6. Church of Ephesians (Acts 19:6): Spoke in tongues and prophesied, miracles broke out (Acts 19:11-12)

Analyzing the above instances, we see that praising God, boldly witnessing Jesus Christ, confronting evil, loving and living in unity and harmony, prophesying and speaking in tongues, followed by the demonstration of miracles and signs are some of the notable signs of people being filled with the Holy Spirit.

This is the standard that we should evaluate ourselves on whether we are filled with the Holy Spirit or not. There are some controversies regarding the manifestation of signs and wonders, especially in regard to the gift of tongues and prophecy. In my Bible, there are three different manifestations of the gift of tongues: one that the speaker does not understand but other people understand (Acts 2:7-8), one that nobody understands and is for your own prayer that brings personal edification (1 Cor 14:2, 4), and the one that is given in meetings which require the gift of interpretation (1 Cor 14: 27-28). Similarly, there are four categories of prophecies mentioned in the book of Revelation 10:11 (people, nations, languages, and kings). In simple language, prophecy can be understood as “proclaiming the will and knowledge of God”. The Holy Spirit is the one who enables us to glorify Jesus through His will and His gifts (1 Cor 12:11).

One of the reasons I have listed these historical facts is because I believe these facts are not in my Bible just for organizing Quiz Competitions. I believe these events were mentioned in the Bible for our wisdom and guidance (1 Cor 10:11, Jeremiah 6:16). As we are filled with the Holy Spirit daily and walk in submission to Him, He will take care of everything associated with our lives (Romans 8:28, Isaiah 46:4). He will enable us to obey His commandments and be the witness of Jesus Christ in our family, society, school/college, workplace, our nation, and in the whole world.

In this regard, I love to talk about Dr. DGS Dinakaran, who is popularly known as the “apostle of love”. Prior to his deep walk with God, He realized that Jesus Christ was anointed with the Holy Spirit and Power. He was very intrigued by the relationship of God with the old testament prophets, namely Abraham, Enoch, Elijah, and many others. He used to work in bank then. He prayed fervently for the anointing of the Holy Spirit for nearly seven years. As a result, his prayers were answered and a powerful ministry was born in the name of “Jesus Calls”.

In the above paragraphs, we learned why we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. But the big question is: “How can we be filled with the Holy Spirit?” To learn this, let’s go to this page.

1. Glorification of God
2. Bold witnessing of Jesus Christ
3. Bold proclamation of the word of God
4. Bold confrontation of evil
5. Prophesying and speaking in tongues
6. Living in love, unity, and care for each other
7. Fear of God
8. Miracles and signs

In this article, we will learn about how we can be filled with the Holy Spirit. I have described this in the paragraphs below:

1. Asking God for the anointing of the Holy Spirit: In Luke 11:13, Jesus says: “…how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Jesus encourages you and me to ask God for the Holy Spirit. Since God Himself promised that He will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh in these days (Joel 2:28), it is no offense to God if we ask Him to fill us with His Spirit every day. As we study the lives of men mightily used by God, we find that they were confident that they cannot do the work of God without His anointing. So, they fervently prayed for the anointing of the Holy Spirit and God honored their requests. As a result, many great revivals and reformations took place in the history of the church. Our loving father is always willing to bless you and me with His Spirit and power. Let us confidently approach the throne of grace (Heb 4:16), asking our heavenly Father to fill us with His Spirit, power, love, faith, and wisdom.
2. Listening to the word of God: “…the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”(John 6:63) More of the word of God in us, more of His Spirit in us. The Bible is the most authentic, truthful and reliable book in the Universe. When we meditate the word of God, the written word (logos) becomes the spoken word of God (Rhema) to us, which has all the power to transform our lives. As we meditate upon the word of God we read, we allow the Spirit of God to check our lives (Hebrew 4:12) and correct us. Upon meditating the word of God, our heart is prepared for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. As a result, the Holy Spirit directs our actions and paths (John 14:26), and enables us to be the light and salt of God.
3. Believing in Jesus: “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38) Water is the most prominent symbolism in the Bible used to represent the Holy Spirit. The rivers of living water signify the overflow of the Holy Spirit from our lives into the lives of people. As we keep believing in Jesus Christ concerning who He is and what He did for mankind, we become filled with the Holy Spirit. Now to say “believe in Jesus Christ” is easy to say but hard to do on our own. The Bible says that Faith comes by hearing the word of Jesus Christ (Romans 10:17). Therefore, as we spend more time learning and meditating on the word of God, it becomes easier for us to believe in the promises of God. As a result, not only are we filled with the Holy Spirit, but we can impact our society, nation, and the world with the gospel of the kingdom of God.

The points I mentioned in this article are the ones I found in my study. If you find anything more, I would always appreciate that and would love to include them in this post. For that, please email me through the ‘send email’ link at the bottom of this page.

God Bless you and thank you for reading this article. I pray that this article will help you walk in a close relationship with God and be a witness of Jesus Christ unto the ends of the Earth. If this article has impacted your life, please let us know through the contact form. We would love to thank God for His work in your life.

We see and hear many popular pastors and worship leaders backing off of their faith, citing God’s incomprehensible silence in the current situation and events of the world. This happens when you hear the world’s voice (news, social media, personal feelings, and other dumb stuff) more than the voice of God. On one hand, this seems reasonable. However, we are not to live by reason and by the facts we see. We are to live by faith. We, however, pray that they may return to the shepherd of their lives. Sometimes we feel like we are alone, we don’t feel like praying and reading the Word of God. But we have to rise above our feelings, to the truth of the Word of God.

It is easy for us to get intimidated at watching God’s silence over the immorality and lawlessness growing in the world. As we look around us, we see that Corrupt ones are prospering day by day. Lawlessness is growing every second. Almost every news is about bad things happening in the world. We cry day and night for the kingdom of God to come on Earth, and His will to be fulfilled in our lives and our nations. Still, we do not see the answers to our prayers. It is easy to question our faith and God’s existence seeing all the events happening around us. However, God wants us to live by faith; that everything is under His control, His plans are way bigger than our understanding. He has a plan for each of us. The Holy Spirit dwells inside of us and is quickening us every day. Our job is to keep pursuing His intimacy and serving Him with perseverance. This is the faith that we need while on this Earth, which says “even though I do not get what I am promised I will still adore God.” God Bless You!

I became a Christian not because somebody came and offered me money, nor because I had seen some healing or strange miracle in my family. If this had been the case, I would have backed off long ago. Saying this, I do not denounce healing and miracles happening in the Christian world. In fact, it is written in the Bible itself that God verifies His word with miracles, signs, and wonders. But slowly, a zeal to study the Bible and listen to the preachings done in the church arose in me and I started studying the Bible and listening to the preachings done in the church. I found that the God of the Bible came to the Earth in purely human form to redeem humans from sin and to reconcile them with Himself. The same God, who did not know any sin humbled Himself so much that He did not protest even until He was hanged on a cross, bearing the sins of all humanity. But He arose from the grave on the third day and ascended to heaven after 40 days in front of more than 500 people, promising to come back again in the future to judge the world.

Among all the preachings I had heard in my family’s pujas, rituals, and celebrations, I had never heard this kind of story. I had never known a perfect god or a person loving sinners so much that they became ready to die for the remission of sins of humans and conquered death. In fact, almost all of the pujas and good works were done so that we could earn a way to heaven. Everything we did was done so that we could please the gods and they would bless us with riches, wisdom, health, and ultimately eternal life. But all in vain. These ceremonies never stopped even after the death of a person. We were doing ceremonies of the dead ones so that they would earn a way to heaven. Now I realize how ignorant and foolish that was!!

Long story short, I believed that Jesus Christ is the LORD and savior of my life. Then He sent His Spirit to dwell inside of me, to enable me to live as His witness. Since then, everything and every good work I do is not focused on earning my way to heaven or to please God. In fact, I do all those things because the Spirit of Jesus Christ is in me and He inspires me to do good works. Many times I fail and do bad works. But the same Spirit of Jesus Christ who is inside of me is faithful enough to point out that sin, to lead me to repentance, and to enable me to not fall again. Everything I am or aspire to be, I owe Jesus.

If you are somebody who does not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, I humbly offer a challenge to you to find a sinless and perfect person/god who has died for the remission of sins of all humans, who arose from the dead and ascended to heaven. I assure you, you will find none except Jesus Christ Himself. If you also want to have a relationship with the God who created you in your mother’s womb, please say this sincerely: “Oh God who created me in my mother’s womb, I don’t know who you are, or how do you look like. But if you will reveal yourself to me, forgive me of all my sins and help me know you, I will follow you and serve you for the rest of my life.”

Remember, Christianity is not all about Churchianity, doing good works, nor “another religion”; it is having and walking in a relationship with the true Creator.

On the other hand, the Bible mentions that meditating upon the Word of God is key to living a fruitful life. It says that people who meditate day and night upon the word of God are like trees planted along the riverbank, that bear fruit in each season, whose leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. Wow, such a wonderful secret! Yet most people don’t understand this. When we meditate upon the word of God, the written word(logos) becomes the inspired word of God(Rhema). Jesus also says that man shall live by “every word that comes from the mouth of God.” This life-giving bread is obtained as we meditate in His word. This meditation is not like eastern meditation practices. Eastern meditation focuses on emptying the mind and detaching oneself from everything. On the contrary, this meditation is all about filling the mind with the word of God, the glory and greatness of God, and being connected with Him. As a result, we draw from the power of the Holy Spirit to implement the word in our daily lives. This sparks a process of transformation in our lives. This makes us fruitful and renews our soul every day. This helps us to stay rooted in our most holy faith even in times of persecution and perils.

Do you want your life to change? Do you want to live a fruit-bearing life? Do you want to get rid of any addictions you may have? Do you want to live a successful life? Meditate upon what God says about your circumstance in His written word.

Discipline, Punishment, and War cannot change a person. Only the Spirit of the Most High God can. Therefore, instead of trying to change people on our own, we have to encourage them to meditate upon the word of God, lead them to His presence, and let them have a personal encounter with Christ. Only the Holy Spirit can enable you and me to be witnesses for Jesus. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are His fruit. We cannot have them on our own. The best thing we can do for ourselves is to stay close to Him, listen to Him, and let others taste His fruit through us.

LET EVERY THEOLOGY AND DENOMINATION BE PROVED WRONG, AND THE WORD OF THE LORD STAND ABOVE EVERYTHING!

It is the tradition of God’s people to accuse His anointed people apostate during their lifetime and adore them after their death (For eg: most prophets of OT and other men of God in the 19th and 20th century). We must now start basing our faith on the word of God, obeying Him, and stop repeating the same mistake. The church fears being deceived by fake things of devil more than relying upon the grace of Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Due to this, there is some sort of pharisee inside of us. Pharisees were the people who had immense “head-knowledge” on the characters of the Messiah, yet could not recognize Him when He manifested Himself to them. It is a sad reality that people who are supposed to listen and obey the voice of the Holy Spirit are actually rejecting the work of the Spirit and labeling His move as fake. However, as time progresses the accusers are gone and forgotten; while the men of God who obeyed His voice are remembered and adored for their faith. God loves to be called their God (Hebrew 11:16 ). While saying this, I do not say that every move is from the Spirit of God. Obviously, when there is the move of God, satan tries to imitate the Spirit of God and deceive people. However, we need to stay patient and anchored to the word of God; the serpent of God ultimately engulfs the serpents of satan (Exodus 7).

Do you choose to listen to men only, and not God (Acts 4:19)? Will you also base your faith upon the wisdom of this world, philosophies, doctrines, personal feelings, and facts (1 Cor 2)? Will you also reject the move of God and perish (Acts 13:41)? Or, humble yourself and ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom and understanding and live as a world-changer?

We live in a world where identity crisis is relevant almost everywhere; even in many Christian communities. I myself have been the victim of this deep-rooted issue in my early Christian years until God brought me to the point when I realized that God has plans for me, which only I will be able to fulfill. However, I see this problem in many of my friends. They disguise the character and personality of some other people to hide their weaknesses and to gain influence in their circle. There are lots of promises and truths about our identity in the word of God. Yet the life portrayed by Christians is contrasting. We try to model ourselves from the movies we watch, from the popular preacher, personality, or celebrity whom we adore. We are tempted to copy the calling of popular people in our life. You know, this was one of the many reasons Israelites sinned and fell away from God and at present, many people stumble because they want to copy others. One of the popular examples of this is Israelites asking for King in the OT because they wanted to be like other people around them. However, we are not made to model ourselves around the world around us, nor are we supposed to compare ourselves with other people.  

The reason identity crisis is prevalent in our societies is because people don’t fully realize who they really are. People become sad and intimidated because they don’t get the glamor and possession as other people. It is important for you to know who you are and what you really want. When you know who you are, you know who you are not. When you know what you want, you know what you don’t want. This causes harmony and edification in the body of Christ. Therefore, Peter urges believers to be diligent in confirming their calling and election.

If we are not concerned about finding our calling and election, we may not find them and we will stumble here and there and ultimately end up with a hit and trial ministry and life. Majority of Christians say that our calling and election is to preach the gospel. That is absolutely true. But how do you know where and how are you going to do it unless revealed by the Holy Spirit. Paul in his many letters mentions that he was called to be an apostle of Christ. There is also a story in the book of Acts where the Holy Spirit forbade Paul to go to Asia, instead He directed them to Macedonia. Why were they prevented by the Holy Spirit Himself if Jesus had commanded his disciples to go unto the ends of the earth, preaching the gospel? It is because God knows how to use us the best and He wants us to serve Him according to His perfect will, not on our own desire. It is, therefore, He gave you and me a specific calling, which only you and I can do the best. You are the most dangerous to devil when you walk in your calling. Therefore he tries to distract you in the worldly affairs and the desires of the flesh.  

Now the question comes: How do you diligently confirm your calling and election? Well, there are a couple of ways I found in the Bible. Firstly, I recommend spending as much time as you can in the presence of God. The best thing we can ever do for ourselves is to stay in fellowship with the Holy Spirit. When you do this, you grow in the fellowship with the Holy Spirit. As you develop the ability to tune into hearing His voice, you will understand it because only the Holy Spirit knows the thoughts of God (1 Cor 2:11) and He is in your life with the purpose of revealing God’s free gifts to you (1 Cor 2:12) among the many other purposes of His dwelling in you. He is the one who is always ready to guide you, mentor you, and empower you. Secondly, I suggest prayerfully serving others. As a result, you get to know who you are, and what are your abilities, gifts, and role in the body of Christ.  

What else do you know about this subject? Please let us know through the contact form on this page. God bless you!

1. Men who were powerfully used were those who were confident that they can do nothing except through the anointing of the Spirit and Power of God.
2. Every revivalist had an incredible hunger and thirst for the Word of God and His presence.
3. The wales revival was founded on these four points: 1. Confess all known sin 2. Search out all secret and doubtful things 3. Confess the Lord Jesus openly 4. Pledge your word that you will fully obey the spirit
4. It is better to wear out for Jesus Christ than to rust out without Him.
5. Every believer baptized in the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts spoke in other tongues!
6. Most revivalists had contrary relationships because they were anchored in their own doctrines, and not upon the continuous guidance of the Holy Spirit. (Charles F Parham vs William Seymour and William Seymour vs William H. Durham)
7. The preachers were so used to the revival that they started believing as if it is through their own cause. Later the move of God turned into a religion. To prevent falling into the trap of this, I must continually pursue the presence of God and keep hearing His voice.
8. During the revival, persecution would start from within the Christian community itself because God does not move in a way they have thought of. I try to limit God in the small box of my understanding and doctrine.
9. The utmost will of God is that we are found faithful to His plan. Faithfulness will always endure the conflict that comes to challenge it.
10. John Wesley believed in strong prayer, holiness, divine healing, and that there should be no discrimination in Jesus Christ.
11. God is looking for a willing vessel. He is not looking for those who brag of their status, degree and experience.
12. You cannot win people by preaching against their church or pastor…if you get to preaching against churches, you will find that the sweet Spirit of Christ is lacking and a harsh judging spirit takes place.
13. Most revivals were crippled due to the lack of a clear understanding of the word of God. For eg: William Seymour preached that even a single sin could lead him to hell, while William H. Durham preached that salvation is not by works alone, but by faith with works involved. This led to a conflict between Seymour and Durham, which was the major reason why Azusa Street Revival culminated.
14. God won’t allow His glory to fall prey to the arguments of men. If that should happen, He leaves-end of discussion.
15. If there was ever a man who walked in the revelation of “God in man”, it was John G. Lake. A man of purpose, vision, strength, and character, his one goal in life was to bring the fullness of God to every person. He had 1,00,000 medically verified healings! During his time, his city was counted as the healthiest city in the world.
16. The secret of heaven’s power was not in doing but in the being.
17. As we grow in life, we are invited to become aware of God’s calling for ourselves. But just being “aware” of God’s calling doesn’t mean it is “the time” for that call to be launched into the earth. Divine timing must come before full-time ministry can begin. So don’t be discouraged during your time of preparation. And don’t compare your call with the call of others. Each call has its own timing and plan. Your faithfulness to the Word of God, along with fervent spiritual preparation determines the timing.
18. Strive for Pentecost. Contend for it. Pray for it. For this, and this alone, will meet the necessity of the human heart, and this alone will have the power to overcome the forces of darkness.
19. Acts 10:38 was the turning point in the lives of many reformers and revivalists.
20. We must determine to hold fast to the Word of God and fight for what is ours in the Earth.
21. God’s angels can help, but the war for our destiny is a personal responsibility that we must win.
22. Do not ever make any decisions in ministry except you receive a distinct leading from the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, you are deemed to fail. (Eg. Apostle Downie running for parliament and later being destroyed, Evan Roberts destroyed by the partnership with a foreign lady).
23. Never attempt to display the power of God for personal benefit or out of hurt and emotional wounds.
24. The greatest snares of a leader are not in the area of persecution but in success and power.
25. We must never think we’ve “made it” and begin to dictate our personal power as a result of God-given success. Success brings a multitude of avenues and ventures. If we get caught up in the vast selections that come from success and fail to develop our spiritual tenacity, we can fall victim to the “whirlwind”.
26. We must remain with the original, anointed plan of God for our lives and allow Him to open the avenues to administrate it. Never sway away from what God has commanded you to do on the earth.
27. God knows the heart of your family and what it will take to move them to the place they belong to. Just keep your own heart right and leave others to God and the Holy Spirit. That way, you will never lose.

Want to team up with us? Contact us through the link at the bottom of this page.