Character & Charisma

1 Cor. 13:² “What if I could prophesy and understand all secrets and all knowledge? And what if I had faith that moved mountains? I would be nothing, unless I loved others.”(CEV)

It is so amazing that the Holy Spirit is so involved. Sadly, sometimes we just run off without engaging Him. If we do not engage the Holy Spirit, we cannot get the best that God has to offer. The quality of our lives here on earth as believers, is directly proportional to our relationship with the Holy Spirit, to how much of Him we allow in our lives, to how open we are to Him, to how open we are to His leading, to His direction, to His guidance. So far, we have learnt about the essence of the God Head and the fact that the Holy Spirit is a person, not a force. We have examined the Names of the Holy Spirit and how His different Names reveal the different aspects of His person. We have also learnt about the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit make us alive; show that He is alive, and He is alive in us. The gifts of the Holy Spirit show us that He is working through us. The gifts of the Holy Spirit is the charismatic bit of our relationship with God. It puts a spring in our step, and it makes us beautiful. It empowers us to be all that God has called us to be. Over the next few days, we are going to be looking at the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is important that we engage God on all these fronts and not just tilt towards one side. For some people, it is all about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but the fruit of the Spirit is lacking. The character is almost zero. We encounter such lives and we wonder if they really are Christians because the fruit is missing. The character is not present. Yet some are tilted towards the fruit of the Spirit [character] and their lives are so pleasant. However, they lack the power thereof; they have the form of Godliness, but they lack the power thereof. They have the fruit; they have the character of a Christian. But they do not have the charisma of a Christian; they do not have the gifts. God has not told us to choose one. We actually should have the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

James was writing to his disciples in James 3 and he was explaining a huge concept, one we must pay attention to. James 3:^9-12 “Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? Does a fig tree produce olives or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.” The same tongue that just praised God in church, gets home, and abuses his or her spouse. Or the same person that prophesies, gets to the business and is prophesying with his hands, on people’s faces, slapping them. James says, surely this is not right. Can you pluck pawpaw from a guava tree? James is saying that exhibiting the gifts of the Holy Spirit and not manifesting the fruit of the Holy Spirit, is a misnomer.

Prayer: Father, I pray that even as You fill me with the Holy Spirit that my life will showcase both His character and His charisma, in Jesus Name. Amen!