Whenever a person gives their life to Jesus they are given a portion of The Holy Spirit, and if they stay the course with Christ, studying His character, and reading and obeying His word, the level of The Holy Ghost is increased with the passage of time. In the Bible this initial installment is called an “Earnest”. Let’s read:
Ephesians 1: 13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
But we are never to rest contented only with the initial gift, for as time passes and needs increase the first installment will prove insufficient to meet the demands that will certainly come. Some Christians receive the gift of The Holy Spirit, but never go on to receive more, and thus a syndrome of lukewarm Christianity sets in. In fact, the five foolish virgins in Christ’s parable of Matthew 25 had been given a portion of The Holy Ghost but as time passed, they didn’t seek for extra and thus, when an emergency arose suddenly, they found themselves destitute of sustaining power to ride it out.
Even though they were all sleeping, that wasn’t the main problem, it was a lack of extra power that did them in. God’s people ought to be a people on the move, ever growing, developing and maturing daily in Christ, for it is only by so doing that the stagnant state of affairs mentioned in Revelation could be avoided. Growth in grace requires God’s supernatural power combined with human effort and choices in obeying His word, but some folks settle for a superficial type of Christianity, where the knowledge of God’s word is not synchronized with the practice of those truths written.
Thus, their experience degenerates into a mere intellectual knowledge of Christ. Knowing Christ and knowing about Christ are two entirely different things, for the former transforms the life on a continuum, whilst the latter savors of a hands-off approach, where the truths in the Bible are not permitted to impact and change one’s life. As it stands currently, most of us as Christians today do not have sufficient Holy Ghost power in our lives to meet daily challenges, let alone any unforeseen emergency that may require extra. Thus, there are several valid reasons why we stand in need of extra Holy Ghost power, some of which are listed below.
[1] Guessing!
There are times in our experience when we may pray and ask God to reveal His will in this or in that situation, and sometimes we can discern His voice clearly, but at other times we are found guessing. This is because we are not familiar with His voice as we ought to be. This first point must be explained further. In the scriptures there is general information given through laws, principles and instructions whereby the righteous may live. But in order for the general instructions to be tailor-made to our own individual situation, we would have to be led by the Spirit of God.
For instance, in buying a home, the Bible teaches us those general principles for making purchases, such as not being driven by covetousness or materialism, being contented with what we can afford. What the scripture does not tell us is which particular house to buy. That direct information would have to come from God through The Holy Ghost, if we so desire. Technically speaking, persons can follow the general instructions given in the scriptures but doing so may not always produce the best results.
For instance, there are three-bedroom homes in Liberty City, that may conform to godly instructions given, but there are also three-bedroom homes in Coral Gables that may also fit the bill. If one desires to be led by The Spirit of God, he/she will be led to a specific home with the best outcome because the choice will be tailor-made by God, who never makes a mistake. On the other hand, persons may choose to go with those general instructions in the Bible, and they may indeed come off well. The problem is that we often cannot decide or even discern which house God is recommending.
Being led by The Spirit of God takes Holy Ghost power to another level, for it includes being enabled to hear His voice clearly, not only through His word but also in those everyday experiences and decisions of life. Let’s read: Romans 8: 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 16 The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. However, there is a very huge difference between living by general biblical instructions and principles and being led on a personal basis by The Spirit.
Thus when we speak about the issue of guessing, we are referring to that stage of Christian development in which God’s voice is not always discerned distinctly in specific matters. Again, the scripture gives us general instructions, or principles on marriage, stating up front that persons ought not to be unequally yoked. That’s all well and good, but it does not lead to a specific person, who would be the very best choice in the matter. To be led to the best specific person will require a special choice by The Holy Ghost.
In other words, two saints may agree on spiritual things such as baptism, believing God’s word, the second coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the 27 fundamental teachings of our church. That does not mean to say that in all other areas they would be compatible. That’s one of the reasons why you have many saints going through divorce, because although they might believe the same things spiritually, they found out that were not suited to live together in real life.
This should never be used as an excuse for breaking up, but the fact is that belief in the same spiritual things is no guarantee that persons will be equally yoked. If on the other hand, The Holy Spirit chooses for a saint, a specific person for that soul to live with in marriage, it will always be the best possible choice that can be made, and the likelihood of breaking up will go down dramatically, if ever. The difference is being led by The Spirit, and following general laws and instructions on our own. Let’s read:
Genesis 24:12 And he said O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. 13 Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water. 14 And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also.
Let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master. 15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. 63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.
64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. 65 For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master. 67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her.
The same issue of guessing occurs with witnessing, for there are general instructions given in the great commission that are to be adopted and followed by each and every saint. This is good and God will bless all well-directed efforts in this direction. Let’s read:
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo I am with you always even unto the end of the world.
But we would need “extra” of The Holy Ghost to be directed to specific persons who will respond in the positive. When The Holy Spirit is directly involved in the implementation of the great commission, those to whom He directs us will usually give their lives to Christ in most cases, for He takes the guesswork out of our evangelistic efforts. Let’s read:
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Acts 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words. 22 Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know.
23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. 24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death. 37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
Whenever The Holy Ghost gets involved in efforts to save the lost, He does so with surgical precision and those who have been given extra of the Holy Ghost will discern and obey His voice in implementing the great commission. The huge difference is following general instructions on witnessing or having “Extra” Holy Ghost to be led to those specific opportunities. We are not speaking these things lightly, nor is it to make anyone feel bad.
We are just highlighting our need of extra Holy Ghost power, so that desire for more of Him may be kindled. Without us seeing our need we will remain in a lukewarm condition, with hits and misses characterizing our great commission experience. Let’s read:
Acts 8:26 And the angel of the Lord spoke unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goes down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. 27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28 Was returning and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.
29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran thither to him and heard him read the prophet Isaiah. 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. 39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
[2] Problems with living victoriously over sinful habits. Whenever we find ourselves falling repeatedly over the same sinful habit, it is a sign that we need extra power. Whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world, and even though persons may be severely tempted from day to day, yet, in the lives of those who are growing in grace, will be seen a steady and even tread in their walk with God. Being tempted because of human weaknesses and frailties is not a sin, it’s yielding to those clamors we suffer from that does us in.
But the Holy Spirit in the life empowers reason and will to hold clamors and desires at bay. God’s power in our lives will always translate into victory, for God has never lost a battle. Now, we do stumble at times, but the general trajectory would always be upward. Always. Let’s read:
2nd Peter 1: 3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue. 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1st John 5: 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 4 For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
2nd Corinthians 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ
[3] Tepid witnessing.
If one were to ask us when was the last time we led someone to Christ many professed Christians would be found wanting. That’s because we need extra of The Holy Spirit to hold our temporal, and mundane interests in a subservient position to the interests of God’s kingdom. But with many, our priorities have been reversed to the point where the great commission is something done by the way, in our spare time, not as a focused mission that is all absorbent.
In some instances, we have become all consumed with survival instead of surrender, and thus our priorities have now become quite mixed up. With many of us, that burning desire to win souls, to share the good news, which animated us when we were first baptized, has been squelched by the cares of everyday living, and as a direct result, doing church has devolved into what can church service do for me, instead of what can I do for the service.
Therefore, we need extra Holy Ghost power, so that or dormant energies can be revived, and so that the great commission given us will be in the forefront of our minds, not as a side order on the back burner. Let’s read:
John 4:28 The woman then left her water-pot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, 29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? 30 Then they went out of the city and came unto him. 31 In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.
32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. 33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? 34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
In other words, even though Jesus was then hungry, He had lost His appetite for food at the prospect of souls being won for his kingdom. Food, and all the other necessities of life were held in subjection to the great commission. That’s why we need extra Holy Ghost power, to help reverse our priorities. [
4] Intimidation, and a lack of boldness for Christ.
Many of us have hidden our light under a bushel in response to the criticisms, and cynicism of the day. In some circles it is not convenient to speak of those peculiar truths we hold dear, and often, in order to appear to be “Cool” we will rather stay quiet, when in fact, we should be speaking clearly. Holy boldness comes with extra Holy Ghost power, and this is one more reason why we need extra, for when The Spirit rests in copious measures upon a person, he/she will speak the truth God gives them, whether it be convenient or not to do so. Let’s read:
2nd Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
Ezekiel 3:7 But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted. 8 Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads. 9 As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks.
10 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears. 11 And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord God; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.
Acts 9:26 And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples. 27 But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. 29 And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Grecians.
Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
There is a syndrome in which church members are found clamoring for more services and ministries to cater to their needs. In most cases, it is not extra services that are needed, it’s extra Holy Ghost that is needed. A continuous clamor for more services is, in most cases a definite sign that God’s power in the church is lacking.
[5] To be prepared for the emergency that is coming.
The forces of good and evil are now gathering for the last fearful battle that will draw a clear line of distinction between those who serve God and those who would not. The devils will not yield the battle without a fierce struggle, and the “Emergency” we are referring to will occur when all the stops have been pulled out, so that choices can be made either for or against Christ. Let’s read:
Daniel 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Joel 2:1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; 11 And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executes his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. 32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered.
[E.W. pp 271] My attention was then turned to the company I had seen, who were mightily shaken. I was shown those whom I had before seen weeping and praying in agony of spirit. The company of guardian angels around them had been doubled, and they were clothed with an armor from their head to their feet. They moved in exact order, like a company of soldiers. Evil angels still pressed around them but could have no power over them.
I heard those clothed with the armor speak forth the truth with great power. It had effect. Many had been bound; some wives by their husbands, and some children by their parents. I asked what had made this great change. An angel answered, “It is the latter rain, the refreshing from the presence of the Lord, the loud cry of the third angel.”
Therefore, the question now is: How can we receive more of The Holy Ghost? How, like those five wise virgins can we have extra? Answer: There are certain things in the spiritual realm that are only given in response to us asking. An extra portion of The Holy Ghost is one of them. Even though folks are given an earnest at baptism, yet we are to constantly ask for fresh renewals and increases of The Holy Spirit according to God’s will. But if we do not see our need of extra, we most likely won’t ask, and that’s the basic problem with Laodicea, we do not realize our greatest need. Let’s read:
2nd Kings 2: 9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. 10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.
11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. Zechariah 10:1 Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.
John 16: 24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
Luke 11:9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 10 For everyone that asks receives; and he who seeks finds; 13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
As we see the signs of Christ’s soon coming happening all around us, and as we see the hearts and minds of men and women becoming perplexed, because of the many problems and strife arising in an almost never-ending cycle, those of us who have been beneficiaries of God’s grace are to rise to the occasion. We are not to wait in idleness, for the apostles did not wait in idleness before Pentecost, but rather, like them, we should be earnestly seeking God for an extra portion of His Spirit to meet the unfolding emergency.
Let us not be satisfied with a mediocre form of relationship with Christ but rather, let every person heed the warnings given in Revelation 3. In harmony with this appeal, we will end with a passage of scripture which should enable us to see both our need, and the final work to be done in our generation.
Let’s read: Romans 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.
God Bless!