Luke 11:13
How much more shall your heavenly Father
give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
The question whether or not, we notice in our lives that we are filled with the Holy Spirit can keep us busy.
Perhaps you sometimes doubt that, because a pastor has said that if you are, then you must also have certain gifts, and often such a pastor will also prescribe you exactly which gift you should have. In many cases these people will point you to speaking in tongues (= speaking in foreign languages). But it doesn’t work like that!
Well you must be filled ..! (Note that here the word “becoming” has been replaced by the word “being”!) And in certain circles they know how to appeal to you in such a way, that when you didn’t receive the gift, of which the pastor or the council of elders have determined you should have, a feeling of guilt finds its place in your heart, because you don’t have what they say that you should have. The result is that some people start to imitate it spasmodically, and in some circles even lessons are given in speaking in strange “tongues” (= languages), or in faith healing.
But exactly that word “becoming” indicates that you cannot do it yourself .. !!
And the word “gift” indicates that you should receive it. (And the recipient does not determine what kind of gift he will receive, or when the giver will give it to him. What you get will only be known after you have received and unpacked it. And what you will receive is determined only by the giver, and not by any of the bystanders!)
Maybe you wondered how you can receive His Spirit.
You have to be full of His Spirit, before you can serve, that’s for sure. And God will give you in His time, exactly the gift you need, to serve Him.
Actually it is just like with the sun.
We humans need sunlight to be able to live. Without those warm rays of the sun we would all die. That too must be just right. If the Earth were closer to the Sun, it would be too hot for us, and if the Earth was further away from the Sun, it would be too cold for us.
- We cannot do anything to ensure that it is not a heavily cloudy day, but the sun is shining.
- But when it shines, it is up to us whether we go out into the sun, or stay at home.
We can say the same for our spiritual life: without the Holy Spirit we cannot live the way God wants us to, and we are, and will remain dead in sin and crime. God has poured out the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and He also wants to give His Spirit to you.
- But it is up to you, to ask for it in prayer.
- And it is up to you, to believe God at His word.
Every day the Lord, in His goodness, makes the sun to rise on this earth. Every day He makes life possible on earth. Well, just as God makes earthly life possible every day, so He wants to give us that quickening Spirit, to fill us with it.
With such a good God, we need not doubt that.
Pray for it, ask the Lord.
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ENGLISH
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