Sunday, June 21, 2009
Spiritual Atmosphere The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. 2 Corinthians 13:14 The word “communion” comes from the root word “commute,” which means to travel. The communion of the Holy Spirit therefore refers to the moving in the Spirit. But before you can move powerfully in the Spirit, you must become familiar and comfortable with the realm or environment of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual atmosphere is something very real. We live under its influence all the time. There are times when you may come into a room and you feel so uncomfortable that you just want to run out as fast as you possibly can. Then there are other times when you come into a room and you can sense the presence and the power of God. When the Holy Spirit fills a room, exciting and powerful things happen. King Saul was totally transformed when he encountered a prophetic atmosphere (1 Sam. 10:6). One hundred and twenty priests collapsed instantly when the glory of the Lord descended upon Solomon’s temple (2 Chr. 5:12-14). We must become skillful in discerning the moving of the Holy Spirit and the type of spiritual atmosphere we are in. A sign of spiritual maturity is knowing how to move with the “mood” and “tempo” of the Holy Spirit. Moving correctly with the “feel” of the spiritual atmosphere is so vital. There are a few ways by which we can build a strong spiritual atmosphere around us every day: (1) Praise and worship. Heartfelt praise and worship always brings down the presence of God (Ps. 22:3; 2 Kin. 3:14-15). (2) Attitude of faith. When we come before God, we need to let go of our fears, anxieties and worries. An attitude of faith helps us to let go and let God (Ps. 46:10). (3) Waiting on the Lord. The head moves quickly but the heart moves slowly. The longest distance is usually between the head and the heart. We should daily wait before the Lord until we can “feel” the presence of the Holy Spirit coming upon us. Learn to delight in a prolonged worship time or prayer time before God. Give time for the words of our song or prayer to move from our head to our heart. (4) Spiritual actions. Our clapping, kneeling, bowing and faith confessions create powerful Spirit-filled atmospheres. The lifting up of our hands is not just a nice worshipful act; it often brings down the anointing of the Lord (Ex. 17:8-13). As you learn to commune with the Holy Spirit in His tangible presence, He will take you on an adventure into the exciting realm of vision and dreams, miracles and the supernatural. |
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