Thirsty?

John 7:^37-38 “On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”

The Holy Spirit is the person of God Himself. Believers in the Old Testament obviously had the Holy Spirit in certain measures, and they had certain encounters with the Holy Spirit. When people have offices as kings, as priests, as prophets; the Holy Spirit comes upon them for the purpose of the office that they occupy. But when the Holy Spirit was released at Pentecost, everyone that believes in Christ Jesus has a measure of the Holy Spirit. He is the seal that God has placed upon us. If you are a believer in Christ Jesus, you have a measure of the Holy Spirit, you have the Holy Spirit in you already. So, what is this thing about the baptism in the Holy Spirit? If you are baptized in The Holy Spirit, you have an overflowing presence of The Spirit.

The best way I can illustrate this is, imagine three cups and a jug filled with water. The jug represents the Holy Spirit and the three cups represent three people. Imagine that all three cups are turned face-down. None of them can receive the water of the Holy Spirit that way. No matter how much water is poured on the cups, as long as they remain closed, they cannot get filled – nothing can get into them. That is what happens when you close your life to the Holy Spirit. He can be present, but He is not influential in your life. His activities are limited or non-existent because you are closed, your mind is closed to the Holy Spirit. When someone has a closed mind, you can stir up the presence of the Holy Spirit all you want, nothing will happen.

Imagine one cup comes to Christ Jesus, its mind and spirit become open. That cup can receive a measure of water, a measure of the Holy Spirit. The scripture says that Jesus was given the Holy Spirit without measure. So, the Holy Spirit can be given in measure. Yes, He can! The third cup is opened and gets filled. But it goes back for the baptism of the Holy Spirit and gets filled even more. What happens? The water begins to bubble and overflow; so, from his belly flows rivers of living waters. As the jug keeps pouring into the cup, the cup keeps flowing, keeps spreading and reaching lives. People encounter you and get healed. People with burdens encounter you, their chains are broken, and their burdens are lifted. This is the privilege of every believer in Christ Jesus. But not every believer gets to this point of overflowing.

Take note that it is not once filled, forever filled. Why? Because we are ministering, we are doing life, we are interacting. Just by shaking some people’s hands, the anointing on you destroys the yoke they are carrying. You feel depleted. Over time, by reason of use, even those that are opened and are filled to the brim get used up. If care is not taken, we have Christians that are talking empty tongues. The tongue is still present because the tongue is a gift, but the vessel is empty. What do we do when we get depleted? Go back for a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer [song]: You provide the fire; I’ll provide the sacrifice. You provide the Spirit; I will open up inside. Fill me up God (3x). Fill me up, till I overflow. I wanna run over (2x). Amen!