1. Counsels:
The Lord is COUNSELING you. That is, He will help you to think through, work out something which you need to resolve or decide. He is your Inner Adult voice and He will speak to you in a reasonable, rational, mature, logical, objective, morally responsible and biblically wise way. He will give you His guidance, His wisdom. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit. (l Cor l2:7-8). If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him (James l:5).

2. Corrects:
The Lord is CORRECTING you. He has shown you that you are in error, deception, self-deception, or denial. He will point out some error in the way you are thinking or seeing things. He will show you that you are lying about something to yourself or someone; that you are escaping or not living according to the truth. Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32). Send forth thy light and thy truth: let them lead me (Ps 43:3).

3. Comforts:
The Lord has COMFORTED you. You will experience the Lord strengthening and loving you. He will lift you up, uphold and support you in what He says to you. You will feel safe and secure through the speaking of His Word to you. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me (Ps 23:4). I, even I, am He that comforteth you (Is 5l:l2). He has ministered to your pain, anxiety, tribulation or turmoil. He has eased your burden, your grief, your despair, discouragemnet, disappointment and self-condemnation. He will remove guilt and shame and give you hope and encouragement. The God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. (Rom l5:l3).

4. Converts:
One of the central activities of the the Spirit is to bring a person to conversion. That is the Holy Spirit is the central Person of the Trinity to bring about a new birth in an individual. John 3:5 says, "Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 8The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

5. Convicts:
The Lord has CONVICTED you of some sin, some failing, some ungodly thinking, feeling or behavior. He does not do this to harm you or to hurt you or to make you burdened with sin or guilt or shame. Not at all! Instead, He will convict you in order to help you confess your failing, admit your sin, and seek His forgiveness and renewal. Learn to distinguish and discern the different voices you are hearing when there is guilt, shame or conviction.If you are feeling overwhelmed with guilt or shame, it is more likely coming from your own personality; your critical inner voice attacking your self-esteem, or it is Satan who seeks to make you discouraged and defeated. When God convicts, He does so in a powerful manner, but always in a spirit of hope, encouragement, renewal and reconciliation. O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.(Ps 69:5). Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight (Ps 51:4).

6. Causes us to Confess Sin
1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." and in James 5:16, "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."

7. Causes us to Call out the Names "Abba" Father and Jesus!
"Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." (Gal 4:6), and "Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor 12:3) and "The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, [ Aramaic for Father] Father." (Romans 8:15).

8. Cleanses:
In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 it says, "Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor practicing homosexuals 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed (cleansed), you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God

9. Consoles:
Many times the Holy Spirit speaks words of consolation. Psalm 147:3: " He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Matt 5:4: "Blessed are they that mourn, for they will be comforted." Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose." Psalm 42:5 says, "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and 6 my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar."

10. Convinces:
The Lord has CONVINCED you of something. He will press home some fact or show you something which you are not seeing. He has been teaching or educating you. There may be something which you are not understanding. He will show you something which you didn't know about Himself, yourself, others, or your walk with Him. He will enlighten or inspire you. How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them (Ps l39:l7). Nothing is all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (Heb 4:l3).

11. Communes:
The Lord has COMMUNED with you. God may simply want to be close to you and abide with you. He may simply want you to enjoy His company and He yours. It is enough to know that He is present; that He is near; that you are together. You will feel the warmth and security and delight of His presence. He is telling you He wants to be close and intimate to you. He says, Be still and know that I am God.(Ps 46:l0).

12. Conforms us to the Image of Christ:
Ephesians 4:13 says. The Spirit continues to work in us "until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ."

Chapter 9 The Spirit of Christ! We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his own Spirit. 1 John 4:13 If you know anyone who says he’s hearing voices, get him some help! But if you are a Christian who hears The Voice Within, you have all the help you need because you are hearing from the Helper, the Holy Spirit. I probably have read a hundred books about the Holy Spirit. Without name-dropping, I think I have read most of the best authors. Yet, in spite of all my studies, I was still somewhat confused about the Holy Spirit. There were still four main questions I had to get straight once and for all. 1. The question about Identity! Who or what is the Holy Spirit? 2. The question about Reception! When is the Holy Spirit received and begin to dwell in the believer’s heart? 3. The question about Fullness or Filling! How does this differ from Reception? What is the filling of the Spirit? And when does it happen? 4. The question about Baptism! What is it? How does it differ from Reception or Filling? And how and when does it occur? Who or what is the Holy Spirit? So I’m asking the Lord right now to guide me so that I can make sense about the Holy Spirit for myself, and to help you know him and the vital work he does in your life. If the Holy Spirit is the key to spiritual growth and renewal, then you and I need to understand Who and what He is and does? God the Father I understand (aside from being a complete mystery). God the Son who became Jesus the Christ I understand even better because He lived among us. (Aside from also being a complete mystery). But Who and what is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is God; one of the three Persons of the Three Person Trinity God. You don’t want to ask me about the Trinity right now! This whole book is about the love of the Trinity. And, truthfully, everything in life is about the Trinity. Understanding the Trinity (a most profound mystery, yet reasonable) is important, but I’ll let that understanding evolve slowly throughout this book. For now, Who or “what” is the Spirit? The Holy Spirit is revealed throughout the OT in many ways and circumstances. He is often seen as the action and power of God. The Spirit hovers upon the chaos of creation, and is active in the guidance of Abraham, Moses, Sampson, David and the prophets. But the fullest revelation as to the person and work of the Holy Spirit is seen in and given by Jesus Himself. And this is found especially in the single discourse of Christ which makes up John, chapters 14, 15, and 16. It is primarily to these three chapters that we go to learn about the Voice Within. All our basic knowledge about the Holy Spirit can be found in Christ’s last discourse, and later illustrated in the Book of Acts and expanded upon in the Epistles. In this last discourse before his death, Jesus announces the coming of the Holy Spirit and calls him the “Paraclete”, which fundamentally means an advocate who is called to assist or act as a substitute on another’s behalf. A representative of another. Jesus made it clear that the Holy Spirit comes to take his place, for he soon was leaving his disciples. The Spirit comes to carry on and carry forward (maintain and advance) all that Christ did and would have done had he remained on earth. He comes to be another Comforter and Companion as Jesus was to them. But with one great advantage! Imagine that you lived in Chicago, and heard that Jesus was preaching, teaching and healing people in Jerusalem. You would get on a plane and fly to him. And when you arrived you discovered that you were among millions who wanted to see and hear and perhaps touch or be touched by him. Impossible! But even if you had a first row seat to the Sermon on the Mount, and he placed his healing hand on your head, though wonderful and unforgettable, it would not last nor likely be repeated. You could not maintain an intimate relationship with him. You would have to go back to Chicago and listen to his audio tapes or watch his videos, or read his latest book. So, what is the great advantage of Christ’s physical absence and the arrival of his Spirit substitute? It is that Christ is now equally approachable by you in Chicago, and to me in New York, and to my cousin Louie in St Louis. Christ is available, that is, to each and every born anew Christian, and accessible in Spirit; by his Spirit. The Spirit of Christ, no longer confined to a specific physical body as Jesus was, is now incarnated in millions of bodies throughout the world and throughout all time. We call this Christ’s Mystical Body. He is equally and everywhere resident in and abiding with you and me and all our born anew brethren in every nation. And that’s why it was expedient for Christ to depart. For he then could send the Paraclete to act in his stead. The Spirit is here to represent Christ - to present him again, to re-present him. The fact is, the Father and Jesus know that you and I need a divine Person to accompany us, lead us, guide us and assist us in order to get through this life’s maze and find our way home to our Father’s house. No outward vision of Christ, no amount of second-hand knowledge about him will be effective in our lives unless the revelation of his presence and power has taken place in us. More important than the revelation of Christ to mankind, is the revelation of Christ in man, for unless the outward revelation of Christ has become a subjective experience, until the Christ of the Gospels has become inwardly known, not until the spiritual eye has seen his appeal, and the spiritual ear has heard his voice, is Christian life anything more than a cold creed and a superficial religion. We need Christ in us! God began this plan of divine assistance and companionship in the OT. He chose a special people and led them to a special land. He accompanied them by pillar of fire and cloud. He promised to always be with them. He continued this plan by sending his own Son, Immanuel. And it was the mission of Christ to bring the lost sheep home. We need a divine Person in us to help us return to our spiritual home. We need one who doesn’t live outside but inside us. One who can take charge of our lives in a very individualized, personalized way. Someone who knows us from the inside out! We need Jesus! No one else will do except the Spirit of Jesus! We need to hear Jesus’ Spirit Voice Within as our guide on this journey home. John Henry Newman says, Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom, Lead Thou me on; The night is dark, and I am far from home, Lead Thou me on. Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see The distant scene, one step enough for me. The Voice Within Jesus loves his sheep. He is the Good Shepherd who will never abandon them. He wants to make sure that “the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-- 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” (John10). Notice how prominent is the Voice of Christ! Notice how the fervent, faithful followers of Christ listen to the voice of Christ. Notice that he calls each of us by our personal name. Notice that we follow him because we recognize his voice. Notice how important it is to hear the Voice of the Master! The Voice Within us! I call the voice of the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ “Voice Within” because it is taught in the Bible, and because it is my experience and that of every born anew, Spirit-led Christian. We testify that we have come to know the Holy Spirit as the Voice of Jesus speaking to our spirits. Paul says in Romans 8:16 that the Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are the sons of God. You must have noticed, as have I, how often Jesus reminds his disciples that he said and did nothing independent of his Father. Look at these verses: John 7:17 - If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own John 7:28 - Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, "Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, John 8:28 - Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. John 12:49 - For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. John 14:10 - Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work Look especially at John 16:13-15 - 13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. 15All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. Jesus never acted alone! He was the dependant Son of God. He was always listening for the Father’s voice and directions. Jesus did not operate independent of his Father. The Holy Spirit does not operate on his own either, but only speaks what he hears spoken to the Son by the Father. The Holy Spirit was the Voice Within Jesus who communicated between the Father and Son. The Holy Spirit, now dwelling in the believer, continues to be the Voice Within who communicates the mind and heart of the Father and Son to the heart of the born anew Christian. Hearing, listening to, and obeying the Voice Within is the great privilege of the Spirit-led disciple. In this present dispensation of time, the indwelling Trinity, the Father and Son within us, communicate to us through the Spirit. The Holy Spirit has charge of saving and sanctifying the world. The Spirit glorifies Christ by taking what Christ reveals and showing it to us. The Holy Spirit is Christ’s Spirit Voice Within the heart of the born anew, Spirit-led Christian. This is a Trinitarian view of spirituality, for “All things the Father have are mine; that’s why I said that the Spirit will take all I have and show it to you.” (John 16:15). Martin Lloyd-Jones says, “The way of holiness, the method of sanctification, is to respond to all the promptings and leadings of the Spirit as he reveals them in our lives both within and without.” This Divine Mind, thought the Word, and it was Voiced. That Word, the only Word the Father begot, was Christ, God the Son. That Word was Spoken, and is God also; the Spirit Voice of God, or Holy Spirit. Hebrews 11: 3 says, “ Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed (that’s the Father or Mind) by the word of God, (that’s Jesus) so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” In the opening verses of Genesis the Father said, “Let there be…” (that‘s the Spirit Voice of God), “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” And so we see the Mind (Father), Word (Son) and Holy Spirit (Voice) of God. And so we see the Three Person God acting as one. We too are minds who conceive words and speak them into action. The Trinity God, speaking impersonally, is Divine Mind Who Speaks the Word. And when He speaks, all the galaxies, stars, moons, planets and living things exploded into being. The Father’s love for the Son was Whispered and all was created. “In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and he was God. He was in the beginning with God. He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn't make. Life itself was in him, and this life gives light to everyone.” (John 1:1-4), “And God said, ‘Let there be Light“ (Gen 1:2). To summarize so far: The Holy Spirit is the Voice of God, Jesus’ Voice Within me, Who speaks the Mind of the Father. When I hear the Father speaking to me in my spirit, I am hearing the ascended, glorified Spirit Voice of Jesus Christ. But the fact is, all Three Persons of the Divine Trinity live in me and commune with me. The whole Three Person God is lovingly invested in my salvation and sanctification, my spiritual growth and development. The Three Person God has invited me into the love-life of the Trinity. That life begins on earth in this body when I become a born-anew person by faith in Christ Jesus; and that life is the life which continues into eternity in heaven. There is only one real life and that is knowing (by the Voice Within) the Father, and the one He sent, His Son Jesus Christ. When do we receive the Holy Spirit? 2. Our second question is the question about Reception! When is the Holy Spirit received and when does He begin to dwell in the believer’s heart? The Holy Spirit of the Trinity God is received when we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior. The moment I realize who Christ is, and what he came to earth to do; the moment we say in our hearts, “Jesus, you are the Son of God my Savior who died for me, I am a sinner who needs to be saved, please come into my heart,” at that moment Christ’s Spirit enters to become the resident Voice Within. Here are some passages which make this very clear. 1 Cor 3:16-17 - 16Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple. Romans 8:9 - 9You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. John 3:5-8 - 5Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 8The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." The Holy Spirit, (all the Persons of the Holy Trinity) is the living Resident of our hearts when Christ is received as our Savior. That’s wonderful news! But here’s the bad news! The bad news is that even if most Christians understand that the Spirit comes to dwell in them when they are saved -and many are ignorant of this fact - most Christians don’t acknowledge it. Most Christians would honestly have to say, “Yes, I know the Bible says that the Holy Spirit is dwelling in me, but what difference does it make?” And our answer to this person is, “It probably makes little difference!” Wilbur Chapman says, “There is both ignorance and indifference concerning him, and the reason is most apparent. Satan very well knows that so long as he can keep us in doubt as to the Spirit’s work, or mystified as to his personality or presence, just so long he has nothing in us to fear. But he trembles when he sees one filled with the Holy Ghost.” (Received Ye the Holy Ghost?, Revell, 1894). What is the Fullness of the Spirit? And that is why our third question is the question about Fullness or Filling! How does this differ from Reception? What is the filling of the Spirit? And when does it happen? This is what makes the difference; the filling of fullness of the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 5:18 we are instructed to “be filled with the Spirit”. It doesn’t say to let the Holy Spirit have a cellar room so that he can be out of sight and out of mind. When the Bible tells us to be full of the Spirit, it is telling us to let him have full access to our whole inner life. But the fact is that while the Holy Spirit and the Holy Trinity is the living Resident of our hearts when Christ is received as our Savior, the Holy Spirit is not President. Resident but not President! This means that we have not allowed the presence of the Holy Spirit to have control and take charge of our heart, mind, will, emotions, and behavior. We don’t’ know how to do this, or we have not learned how to cooperate with the Spirit, or we don’t think it’s important, or we don’t want to make the effort. Three Christians! Let’s say that there are three groups of people who call themselves Christians. First, there are nominal Christians who have never been saved or received the Holy Spirit. They are Spirit-deprived Christians! There are Christians who have been saved and have the Spirit of Christ’s presence in them, but ignore or neglect to acknowledge the Voice Within. They are Spirit-dormant Christians; asleep to the Spirit. There are Christians who are born anew, saved and Spirit-led, Spirit-filled, Spirit-dominant Christians, because they hourly and daily seek, and continuously listen for and obey the Voice Within, the Spirit Voice of Jesus Christ. The are dominated by the Spirit who lives in them. The Spirit has control over their inner life. They are enjoying constant communion and communication with their most important Companion and Friend, Jesus Christ. They are praising, worshiping and hallowing their Father God. They are taking every little thing and every big thing to him. They are consulting him and conferring with him about all things. They are receptive to him when he counsels, corrects, convinces, convicts, cleanses, converts, conforms, comforts, consoles and communes with them. Their most cherished preoccupation and ambition in life is to be ever closer and intimate with Jesus. They desire to “live, yet not I, but Christ living in me.” If you know that you are a nominal Spirit-deprived Christian, then I urge you to run to Jesus and ask him to become your Savior and give you his Spirit right this moment! If you know you are a Spirit-dormant Christian, then you must start shouting, jumping up and down, asking, begging, pleading with Jesus to fill you. You must start seeking and desiring and longing for Jesus to fill you with his Spirit so that you can begin to hear and follow his Voice Within. If you are a Spirited-dominated Christian, praise God. Ask the Lord to maintain you in his fullness! Your Beautiful Balloon! Imagine taking a balloon that has not been inflated. Now blow it up with your own breath. It probably took some energy and effort, but it’s blown up and looks like a balloon. Does it rise in the air? No! Not unless you hit it and keep hitting it. Otherwise it just sits where you put it or where it falls to the ground. This is a picture of the Spirit-deprived, nominal Christian. He’s full of his own air, and may even look pretty good, but he can’t rise much above the ground. He can’t live in the heavenlies above! He keeps falling back to earth! Now take the same balloon. Start filling it again with your own breath, but this time attach it to a tank of helium (Holy Spirit helium) and add about 15% helium in addition to your own breath. See, the balloon now rises a bit. But not very high, and not for very long. This is a picture of the Spirit-dormant Christian in whom the Holy Spirit is present but not president. There is just not enough of the Holy Spirit in these Christians. The Spirit, the Spirit Voice of Jesus Within wants to talk to them and take charge of them and lead them and grow them , but they give him so little operating room. Take the balloon once more! Attach it to the tank of helium. Do you know Who that tank of helium is, by the way? It’s Jesus Christ! He is the source of the Holy Spirit (the helium). It is His Spirit Within! He and the Father give us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is their gift to us! And so is the new filling of the Spirit. Is your balloon attached to Jesus? Then watch what happens! “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” He fills you completely with his Spirit. That’s what makes you a Spirit-filled, Spirit-dominated Christian. Remember what John the Baptist said in Matthew 3:11. He said: “ I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Do you want to be filled with Holy Spirit fire? Do you want to come to life as a Christian? Do you want to be a Christian who lives above continuous temptation, sin, discouragement and failure? Then stop blowing up your balloon with your own hot air! Stop neglecting and ignoring the Voice Within; stop squelching and sweezing the Spirit into a corner. Let the Holy Spirit have full room in you! Let Jesus breath his own Spirit freely into your heart and spirit. Baptism with the Holy Spirit! How do we get this fullness of the Holy Spirit? By letting Jesus Spirit Baptize you! This leads to our fourth question about Baptism of the Holy Spirit! What is it? How does it differ from Reception or Filling? And how and when does it occur? There has been plenty of controversy about this, so I’m hoping that the Voice Within me will teach me the truth right now as I try to share my thoughts with you. There is even controversy about the preposition (Gk: “EN”) after the word “baptism”. Is it… (1) Baptism with the Holy Spirit? (2) Baptism in the Holy Spirit? (3) Baptism by the Holy Spirit? (4) Baptism of the Holy Spirit? Let’s sort this out by going to this initial passage of scripture again (Matthew 3:11) from the New King James Version. John the Baptist is speaking. “ I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” JOHN 1:32Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' First of all, the word “Baptism”. It means the event when a new believer in Christ is placed into or immersed (Gk: “Baptizo”) into the Body of Christ. Water Baptism is the way that God uses to visually exemplify or illustrate how we become identified or included in the kingdom of God, his family. It’s a picture of a person being immersed in or dipped into water. This signifies inclusion, belonging, and acceptance by God into his family. A decision to die to the old life and come up out of the water to live a new life. It signifies and change-over and a make-over. And so John invited people to join him in the Jordan to be baptized in order that they would take the visible step of repenting (turning their life around) from sin to a life pleasing to God. We still baptize babies and adults to signify a change from the life born in sin to a new life pleasing to God. But water baptism is not the whole story, because you and I know that even after we were baptized, and accepted Christ as our Savior, we had an upward battle with sin, temptation, our weak wills, unruly emotions, dark minds and hard hearts. We obviously need more than water poured over us, or being immersed in it. We need more than an initial act of repentance. We need inside, on-going assistance. We need something poured in us. Something more powerful than our good intentions and promises. We need a new heart that is sensitive and soft to the Voice of God within. We need a mind and will and emotional life that is subject to Someone who is able to control the inner life. We need the Holy Spirit fire that can do deep cleaning, purifying, refining, and renewal from the inside out. We need to be filled with God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit Voice Within. We need to have the indwelling love of the Trinity, Father, Jesus, Spirit. I need to ask the Father who loves me and has made me his child, I need to ask Jesus, who saved me and made me his new creation, I need to ask the Holy Spirit, who made me his temple, I need to ask God to baptize me with his Holy Spirit and fire. How to be Baptized and Filled by Jesus If I am saved, I have the Spirit of Jesus residing in me. If I have the Spirit residing in me, what more do I need? I need more than residing; I need presiding! Children need more than parents residing in the home. They need parents who preside, by exercising control, guidance, encouragement, assistance, love, correction and discipline. Children need parents who are permanently available to both consistently love them and to exercise power and authority over them. Otherwise, children will not mature. I too cannot mature spiritually unless the Spirit of Jesus, the Voice of Jesus’ Spirit within me, loves and directs me. I absolutely must learn to Hear (Recognize), Listen (Receive), and Obey (Respond) to Jesus’ Spirit Voice Within. This is how I grow spiritually. But becoming sensitive and responsive to Christ’s Voice Within is not easy, because it is a still, small voice which can only be heard with a heart of love and willingness and seeking. If we stop wanting to hear Christ’s Voice, we soon will not hear it. Jesus says, “ Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Rev 3:20). It takes some practice and persistence. Ready for Renewal? Are you ready to be baptized by Jesus and filled with the Spirit? If you have been a Spirit-dormant Christian and desire to be a Spirit-dominated Christian, you will need this kick-start. You will need to be fully immersed and saturated with the Holy Spirit in order to activate a new Spirit-filled life. You’ll need an in-rush and implosion of your heart by the Spirit. Ezekiel 36 says, [26] A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. [27] And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. That’s why Jesus needs to baptize you with His Spirit and set you on fire. And just as we don’t repeat water baptism, Jesus does not repeat Spirit baptism. But he will baptize you now and expect you to renew this baptism with the same five steps he uses to baptize you. (1) He prepares your heart by giving you knowledge and desire. In this chapter you were instructed about the nature, reception, filling and baptism of the Holy Spirit. Have you seen the Lord create a longing and desire, a thirst and hunger in you for a new filling of the Holy Spirit? Spend a few quiet, silent, eyes closed minutes realizing how he has stirred this hunger in you. (2) He invites you to clean and purify your heart and conscience by making a self-examination, then a confession, then a repentance of all known sin and failure. Spend a few quiet, silent, eyes closed minutes realizing what sins come to mind, and receive his forgiveness and healing. (3) He asks you to make a new and total surrender and consecration to him. He wants you to yield yourself to him completely and let him know that he is the primary priority of your life. Spend a few quiet, silent, eyes closed minutes making this commitment and surrender. (4) He now asks you to pray for a new filling and inflowing, a new aliveness and vitality, revival and renewal by his Spirit. Spend a few quiet, silent, eyes closed minutes saying your own personal prayer. (5) He asks you to take a deep breath and receive the filling of the Spirit of God, and immediately (whether you experience anything emotional or not) begin to thank and praise and enjoy God. Do this verbally and vocally, with words spoken and songs sung. With dancing and shouting if you are so led. Hear, Listen to, and Obey the Voice Within! Experience the love of the Trinity! LUKE 11:13If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" JOHN1:33I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' 34I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God." PRAYER: TRUE LIFE by Max I. Reich Ah, life is lonely without God- A desert drear and wild; One feels an exile far from home And like an orphan child. Though weak and sinful, God is found By those who are sincere; To hearts that hunger for his love He tenderly draws near. To know the Father and the Son Is everlasting bliss; Earth’s fading joys cannot compare With joy as pure as this! We leave earth’s joys to seek in him The good earth cannot give; When fellowship with God is found, Then we begin to live.