Holy Spirit Flame Series

Vance Hefner once said, If we serve such a dynamite God, why are so many of us living firecracker lives? I believe that's a profound quote, friends, because it nails the lack of victory and power in most believers today from pulpit to pew. We lack power in our preaching because we lack the Spirit's anointing. We lack victory in our daily living because we try to live the Christian life by fleshly efforts.

This series of lessons on the Holy Spirit will help us clarify misunderstandings of who the Holy Spirit is and what His office is. There are different theological camps on the office of the Holy Spirit, and they fall into two extremes of some who feel the Spirit was for the early church and not for us today. I believe this is a big misunderstanding.

Others believe that if you have the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you'll be able to speak in tongues, which is another big misunderstanding. What we will learn in this series is balance on the Holy Spirit and how to have a better comprehension on who the Holy Spirit is in His attributes and what His office is in the life of the church today. And as we study this doctrine of the Holy Spirit, we will deal with such topics as the second blessing and the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

We will come to know the Holy Spirit as a divine person with a personality that can be quenched and grieved. Vance Havner's quote pretty much sums up our lack of power today by describing the majority of Christian lives as mediocre living, whereby the same Holy Spirit that enabled such evangelists like Charles Fanny and D.L. Moody to have such influence is still available to us today. Unfortunately, we ourselves are often the very reason for lack of power from on high, as the words of Ellen Redpath's observation on the church's lack of power still ring true today.

Redpath said, Today, the Christian church is helpless, behind the scenes and away from the public arena, but we are facing powers of darkness too strong for us because somewhere in our personal lives we have forfeited our right to the Spirit's anointing, His authority and His power in His absence. All we can do is substitute planning and organization, schemes and techniques. Well, Redpath's chilling observation hits the nail on the head, friends, with his observation regarding our lack of power due to compromise in our personal lives.

And the main reason why churches today lack authority as well is because of conformity to the world and compromise in our personal lives. When we learn how to appropriate the Spirit's anointing, it will transform our entire life and ministry. As D.L. Moody observed of his preaching after he received the Spirit's anointing, here are the words of D.L. Moody.

I was crying all the time that God would fill me with His Spirit. Well, one day, in the city of New York, oh, what a day! I cannot describe it. I seldom refer to it.

It's almost too sacred an experience to name. Paul had an experience of which he never spoke for fourteen years. I can only say that God revealed Himself to me.

And I had such an experience of His love that I had to ask Him to stay His hand. I went to preaching again. The sermons were not different.

I did not present any new truths. And yet hundreds were converted. I would not now be placed back where I was before that blessed experience.

If you should give me all the world, it would be as the small dust of the balance. Well, friends, hopefully in this series on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, we will have a better understanding of who He is and how we can better appropriate Him for ministry today.