Are You Still Trying to "Catch" the Holy Spirit?

There is a lot of confusion about the holy Spirit, even among Christians.

I legit had a young Christian once ask me, “Pastor, do we each get one personal Holy Spirit or does He divide His time between all living Christians?”

I think what has happened is that some our Churches, we have over-emphasized certain aspects of (what we think is the) Holy Spirit’s ministry, and in so doing, are teaching people more about spiritism than the Holy Spirit Himself (I’ll explain the difference in a minute). On the other end of the spectrum, there are churches who have under-emphasized the work of the Holy Spirit, and in so doing, act as if the Holy Spirit had His greatest hits in the book of Acts and has been in retirement since. These churches emphasize doctrine and theology and significantly play down how the Holy Spirit manifests His power in our lives today.

Then of course, there are those Christians stuck in the middle who are wondering if the Holy Spirit is the 3rd in command like a military hierarchy, or wondering how they can “catch” the fire of the Holy Spirit (as if He were some kind of wild beast on the loose).

Before we talk about WHO THE HOLY SPIRIT IS, there is one more concerning issue I’ve observed in our African Christian culture today, and it is the fact that many Christians and pastors have confused the Holy Spirit with Spiritism. In case you are new to class, spiritism is when we pursue supernatural power, wisdom, or spiritual experience outside of what the scripture teaches. This is when people become more interested in hidden power and secret wisdom than the Person of the Holy Spirit.

In fact, you will easily notice this when you start to hear a preacher say things like:  

• “There are Deeper mysteries in the spirit you are missing”

• “Higher realms of truth”

• “Dimensions of spirituality”

• “Secrets of the spirit world”

When you hear from a preacher an excessive emphasis on secret revelations, hidden dimensions, and spiritual mysteries unavailable to ordinary Christians, understand that the conversation has shifted away from the Holy Spirit of the Bible and toward spiritism. And spiritism, if left unchecked, becomes a doorway into witchcraft.

To be clear, not every preacher who uses language like this is intentionally trying to deceive people or lead them into error. Some are sincere believers who genuinely love Jesus and desire to help God's people. However, when our teaching begins to focus on spiritual experiences that cannot be clearly rooted in Scripture, we have begun to move away from the ministry of the Holy Spirit and toward something else entirely.

Paul actually warns us about this in Colossians 2:18–19. He says, “Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. They have lost connection with the Head [Christ].”

So, in light of this confusion about who the Holy Spirit is and what He does, I want us as Christians to become more re-acquainted with the Third Person of the Godhead - the Holy Spirit. So we’re going to ask and answer a few basic but critically important questions: Who is the Holy Spirit? What does He do? …and how do I know if He’s present and at work in my life?

Let’s start with the simplest and most direct answer to the question of, “Who” is the Holy Spirit.

WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit is not the third in command like some people imagine.

For whatever reason, we instinctively imagine the Trinity as a hierarchy: God the Father as “the boss,” Jesus as “the deputy,” and the Holy Spirit as “the assistant who runs around earth and does all the work.”

That’s wrong! THE HOLY SPIRIT IS FULLY GOD.  

He’s fully divine, co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father and God the Son, Jesus Christ.  As Christians, we worship ONE GOD, IN THREE DVINE PERSONS who are unified in a way that confounds human comprehension.

Now, though God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are equal and co-eternal in nature, They are distinct in Their roles within the Holy Trinity and in how they relate to one another and how they relate to the world. Yet, at all times, they always work together in perfect unity. They are never in competition or confusion and never act independently of one Another. In every divine act, whether creation, salvation, or daily transformation of the believer, whatever the God the Father desires, God the Son and God the Spirit also desire. Whatever the Son accomplishes, the Spirit applies, and the Father delights in it. Though each person within the Godhead has a distinct role, they are always acting in perfect love and agreement, and in that sense, the Holy Spirit is fully God.

It’s for this reason that we must never speak carelessly about the Holy Spirit as if He were some kind of electrical power or magical weapon we can control or switch on whenever we want.  Too often, you’ll hear people in church will say things like:

• “We release the Spirit on you!”

• “We command the Holy Spirit to move RIGHT NOW!”

• “We charge this atmosphere with the Spirit.”

Listen, that is not power, that is spiritual recklessness. The Holy Spirit is not a beam of energy you “activate” to throw at problems, nor is He is a spiritual bullet you fire in prayer.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD HIMSELF. 

We don’t use HIM, HE leads us, and HE chooses how and when HE wants to move!

Now, that answers the, WHO. Next question is…

WHAT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT LIKE?

As in, what does the Holy Spirit look like? What does He feel like? How will I know if I see or experience the Holy Spirit?

Well, first of all, the Holy Spirit is a Spirit, which means He’s not visible to our human eyes, even though ON one or two occasions in the scriptures, He chooses to manifest as a tongue of flame or as a dove. The reality is that though we can’t see Him, we can experience the impact of His ministry in our lives.

Remember I mentioned earlier that because the Holy Spirit is God, He has personhood? What that means is that the Holy Spirit has intelligence. He has a will (Hebrews 10:29; 1 Thessalonians 1:6; Romans 14:17; Ephesians 4:30; Romans 8:26). He can experience joy, He can be grieved, He can be angry, and He can be insulted, but He can also comfort and encourage.

It’s for this reason that I earlier pointed out that we don’t (and can’t) just command the Holy Spirit to move as if He were our personal butler. For this reason, when it comes to seeking the power and presence of the Holy Spirit…

OUR PURSUIT SHOULD NEVER BE ABOUT SEEKING AN EXPERIENCE, IT SHOULD BE ABOUT SEEKING A RELATIONSHIP.

When we open our hearts to God through faith in Jesus Christ, we are ALSO entering into a relationship with the Third Person of the Godhead, The Holy Spirit. And that relationship, by the way, begins on the day when you come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. In the moment, the Holy Spirit moved in and took up permanent residence in your heart.

That is why Ephesians 1:13-14 says, “When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.” 

So, let’s be clear on something that is usually a point of confusion even for mature Christians. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you have already RECEIVED the Holy Spirit and He lives you. That was a one-time event.

However, there is a Biblical command to followers of Jesus Christ who already have the Holy Spirit in them to be, “filled with the [same] Holy Spirit”, and that is intended to be an ongoing experience. Ephesians 5:18-20 says, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit...” 

Scripture is not saying that you received a Junior-Holy Spirit the first time, or that you received 50% less of the Holy Spirit that is in the ministry of your favorite man of God. NO! What Paul is getting is at is that…

EVERY BELIEVER HAS THE HOLY SPIRIT, BUT THE HOLY SPIRIT MAY NOT FULLY HAVE EVERY BELIEVER.

In other words, for many of us, the issue is not that we need more of the Holy Spirit, but rather, the issue is that we need to submit more of ourselves to Him so that there is more space in our lives for Him to heal. In other words, the more room you make, the more space for the Holy Spirit to fill. Daily!

Secondly, when Paul says in verse 18 that we should be “filled with the Spirit”, in the original language, he’s expressing that command in the present imperative tense, which means it is an ongoing, continuous action. As in, be filled with the Holy Spirit and keep being filled with the Holy Spirit, or better yet, “Allow yourselves to be continually filled by the Spirit.”

So, the question here is:

How does a follower of Jesus Christ, who already has the Holy Spirit, become continually filled with, controlled and empowered by the same Holy Spirit?

Well, the answer is in that same Ephesians 5 passage where Paul contrast for us what it means to be filled with a worldly example. Let me read the fuller passage so you get the full context starting in verse 15, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of everyopportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul purposely contrasts the filling of the Holy Spirit to being drunk. Paul says “…the days are evil, so don’t be foolish…”

Let me ask you, what do people turn to when they are overwhelmed by discouragement, depression, or anxiety? In my experience with humans, I’ve observed that a good population turn to alcohol to drown out their sorrow. Now, I have never been drunk before but I have seen plenty of drunk people, and one thing they all have in common is that they lose self-control… to the point that a select few may event start singing songs to soothe themselves.

Paul is saying here, do the opposite! Don’t turn to alcohol. Turn to the Holy Spirit, open up every area of your life and allow the Holy Spirit to fill you instead (of wine). Basically, whatever it is you think alcohol will give you, the Holy Spirit will bring you more! You could almost read that passage as saying, “Drink of the Holy Spirit and allow Him plenty of space to fill every room of your life.”

It’s this same idea Jesus is conveying to us in John 7:39-39 when He says, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him.”

I suspect that the reason why many of us are not experiencing the filling of the Holy Spirit in our lives is that we are only offering the Holy Spirit bits and pieces of our lives. One of our pastors on staff calls it the “Emergency Sanctification Syndrome”. This is when we only come to God in prayer to fill us with the Spirit because we need something.

Either someone needs prayer or healing, or we are dealing with some spiritual warfare situation where we are forced to cry out in urgency, “Lord, fill me with your spirit” – yet, every other day during the week, we place the Holy Spirit on standby… “…just be ready when I need you!”

Listen, being filled with the Holy Spirit means that at any given period in our lives, our heart attitude, our affection and attention is yielded to the leading of the Holy Spirit through what He is saying to us through the Word of God.

Since the Holy Spirit is the Third person of the Godhead at work in our lives sanctifying us and making us more like Christ daily, being filled with the Holy Spirit means we are being yielded to EVEN the smallest promptings as well as the big instructions.

• So many of us are eager to obey the Holy Spirit when He says, “Lay hands on that sick person and ask God for healing”, but do we ignore Him when He says, “Lay down your pride and apologize to your wife for the way you spoke to her?”

• Many of us want to quickly obey when the Holy Spirit gives us a word of prophecy for someone, but we struggle when He says, “Forgive that person who hurt you.”

• Many of us want to be led when it comes to ministry, but not when it comes to our money.

• We want the Holy Spirit to anoint our teaching but not touch our temper.

• We want him to fill the crusade ground, but not our private thoughts.

LISTEN, BEING FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT IS NOT JUST ABOUT THE POWER TO PERFORM MIRACLES, IT’S ABOUT THE HUMILITY TO OBEY GOD IN THE ORDINARY.

The same Spirit who gives you boldness to cast out demons is the same Spirit who teaches you to say, “I’m sorry,” “I was wrong,” or “Lord, change me.”

So, if you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit, start with the small obediences!

Now, I should point out what I hope is obvious, and it’s that the most important and the primary ministry of the Holy Spirit in your life is to testify about and bring glory to Jesus Christ in your life. That’s literally what Jesus says in John 16:13-14, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the 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. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.” And then in John 15:26, “"When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father--the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father--he will testify about me.”

That means one of the clearest indicators that you are continually being filled with the Holy Spirit is AN INTERNAL LOVE FOR JESUS CHRIST that manifests itself powerfully in the bold proclamation of the Gospel in your life.

In other words, even in instances where the Holy Spirit empowers you to do spectacular supernatural deeds, the goal of that miracle or healing or prophecy is that it creates in you a greater joy and love for Jesus and it draws lost people closer to Christ!

So, if you are seeking the filling of the Holy Spirit, the real question you should answer is: What areas of your life is presently closed off to Him? What door in your life is the Holy Spirit knocking on and saying, “I need you to open this one too” so that I can fill you completely!!

Keep in mind that the more of yourself you open up, the more space He has to fill in your life! And get this, God is MORE THAN EAGER for you to experiencing the filling of the Holy Spirit than you are even willing to ask. Jesus says in LUKE 11:13 that “If 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!" And then in John 3:34, He says “For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.”

So, incidentally, our prayer at the end here is not, “Come fill me Holy Spirit”, but rather…

“Holy Spirit of God, have your way in my life, I open every door of my life in surrender to you!” 

Let’s pray that!

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