Yesterday, we concluded a series of messages on the Holy Spirit. The last message was all about living in the Spirit. There are three areas that I want to address from that message.
First, the gifts of the Spirit are essential for believers in today’s world. 2,000 years ago the gift of tongues was controversial and misunderstood and it still is today! I am asked quite often if speaking in tongues is necessary for salvation and the answer is no, but with this caveat. When I answer that question I feel like I am really telling that person that tongues is not necessary at all. And that is not the case. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is necessary! Let me write that again – The baptism of the Holy Spirit is necessary! And the evidence of the baptism is speaking in other tongues (I’ll tackle this subject in another message). Being a Christian in today’s world is hard and you and I need all the help we can get to be successful. God has provided us with the help we need; it is through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Secondly, the gifts of the Spirit are specific abilities for specific circumstances, while the fruit of the Spirit are God’s expectation for us. One of the things I find very interesting is that one of the most famous chapters in the Bible is 1 Corinthians 13 (The “Love Chapter”). But notice its location. 1 Corinthians 12 is where we find the gifts of the Spirit; chapter 14 is the instruction manual for using the gifts, and right in between is a chapter totally devoted to the definition of love. Think of it a chapter of love right in the middle of the most Pentecostal section of the Bible! Pentecost and love are connected.
Lastly, I bet a lot of you were surprised when the conclusion of my message about living in the Spirit addressed the issue of alcohol! Be here is why I did it. In order to live in the Spirit we must be yielded to Him. We say the things the Spirit enables us to say, we think according to the Spirit, (the mind of Christ), and we act according to the conviction of the Spirit. The scripture draws the comparison between being drunk and being filled, why because both involved yielding and influence. When you are drunk you are under the influence of alcohol, when you are filled you are under the influence of the Spirit. What or who’s influence are you under? To what or who are you yielded?
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