Evidences of the Spirit-Filled Life

Update:

• Dwayne had a checkup with his Doctor and the results were not as good as originally expected. His PSA levels have dropped significantly, but are still dangerously high. He has six more weeks to heal before anything more can be done, and there’s a chance that the levels may drop during that time.
• Lisa is doing well, but last Sunday was the first anniversary of her son’s death and she is still grieving heavily.
• June should be back next Tuesday!

Praise Reports:

• Arnie and Kathy Schmid had a great visit with Dwayne and Vivian and others.

Prayer Requests:

• Mary Clough—leaves to visit family on the eleventh
• Byron—suffering from bronchitis
• Arnie—eye problems
• Joel—fractured a growth plate in his foot, glad it was not worse, pray for healing
• Alan and Kathleen—peace and unity and protection
• Pray for all of those affected by Hurricane Irene.
• Pray that the Lord will draw nation our nation to Himself.

 

Do you ever wonder if the Spirit is within you? Maybe you think you've finally run Him off, or question whether He was ever in you. At times most of us have doubts. Paul says, "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!" Are we doing this on a daily, weekly, monthly, or even yearly basis? And if we are testing ourselves, then what test are we using? 

Here are four solid evidences of the Spirit-filled life, which you can use to test yourself to see if Christ is within you and you are in Him. There are probably more evidences than this, but these four come directly from 2 Corinthians 5:1-11, where it says that God "gave us the Spirit as a pledge. Therefore...."

1. Vs. 2 "...in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven...." If we have the Spirit within us we will long for Heaven. We will have a supernatural Something inside us, pulling us inexorably Heavenward. In a certain sense, we long for death and what that will bring us. Now, normally we aren't seized with a great longing for the afterlife when we roll out of bed and grab a cup of coffee every morning (if you do there might be something wrong). However, there are times when stress and pain and evil make us long for some peace and joy in the Father's presence. That's completely natural for the Spirit-filled Christian! Don't get comfortable in this world.
2. Vs. 9 “...we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him." If we have the Spirit within us, our goal--no matter what we’re doing--is to please God. This has implications for our careers, relationships, hobbies, spending habits, etc. Our Heavenly home should affect our daily life! We are our own best judges in this (Hint: You can't judge other peoples' motivations in this respect.). If you're not living your life with God's pleasure as your ambition, do what soldiers do when they get out of step while marching: take a "half step" and get back into rhythm.
3. Vs. 10 "...we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." If we have the Spirit within us we will have a healthy respect for judgment. The Spirit never excuses a Christian from the account we will one day have to give. There is no fear in this (1 John 4:18), but we know that our day of reckoning will come and we will answer then for what we do now. This third point follows from the second, our wish to please our Father. If we do not please Him we will have to answer for it. This is not to say that God is like a dictator, keeping us in line through fear of punishment, but He is like a father who has certain rules for his children that must be followed, with consequences for disobedience. We have lost much of this in modern America, where consequences are rarely considered with necessary weight in our public school systems or private homes. As Christians are we keeping the day of judgment ever before our minds?
4. Vs. 11, "...we persuade men." If we have the Spirit within us we will persuade others. Perhaps God did not destine you to be a missionary or street evangelist, but the Spirit-filled Christian will be motivated to share the Gospel message with others. Find a way or take opportunities to share with someone else the knowledge of the Spirit-call on their life. Share the other three points (our longing for Heaven, our goal of God's pleasure, and the eternal judgment) with unbelievers. Parenting is very important in this respect: raising one child raised with seeds of faith can change the whole world.

These are four rock-solid evidences of the Spirit within a person. Personal Application: Write each of these on an index card and carry them with you in your purse or wallet, checking frequently to see if you're still on the right path. 

Holy Spirit,, a photo by kelsey_lovefusionphoto on Flickr.