Walking in Faith, Joy, and a Fresh Anointing
By Gil Howard-Browne
www.revivaltimes.com
In Part 1, we looked at the Holy Spirit as our resident Teacher and the importance of keeping our focus on Jesus. Now let us consider how to live from that truth every day, receive His refreshing, and allow His life to flow through us to others.
Receive What Jesus Has Accomplished
Seeking God is not complicated. Some people think that seeking God means they must spend hours and hours struggling in prayer before God will respond. But He is already here. He lives within us. I do not have to pray hard enough to open heaven so God can finally come down and bless me when the Holy Spirit already lives on the inside of me.
Think of having money in the bank. You do not walk into the bank and beg the manager to please give you your money. It already belongs to you. You access what is yours. Through Jesus, God has accomplished tremendous blessings for us. Scripture speaks of being blessed in the city, blessed in the field, blessed coming in, and blessed going out. Jesus became the curse for us so that we could inherit the blessings promised to Abraham.
Believe God. Trust Him. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. Seek the things that have been made available because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. He will give you joy unspeakable and full of glory and peace that passes understanding. This is not something human beings can manufacture. The peace of God is supernatural.
The early church was supernatural, and God wants the modern church to be supernatural. We need to walk in the power and demonstration of the Spirit of God every day and experience the hand of God moving on our behalf.
Respond to Problems with Faith
The next time you are confronted with a problem, do not allow your first reaction to be fear and despair. Go immediately to God. Go immediately to His Word. Take His promise and believe it for yourself. Worship God and praise Him in the middle of whatever you are facing. Do not allow gloom, despair, fear, or depression to dictate the direction of your life. Let the joy of the Lord be your strength. Let the peace of God rule in your heart so you can walk in the supernatural power of God.
Jesus asked in Luke 18:8, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” What is Jesus going to find when He comes? Will He find a body of believers living by faith and trusting Him every day? Will He find a church on fire and living an anointed life? Or will He find people focused on all the wrong things and arguing about doctrines that do not produce life-changing results?
Our attention needs to return to the life-giving and life-changing presence of God. We need His power that heals, changes, sets free, and delivers.
The Oil of Joy and the Garment of Praise
Isaiah speaks about the oil of joy instead of mourning. There is an anointing of joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. It is something we can experience every day. That does not mean we have to walk around laughing every moment, but there can be a joy living on the inside of us that eventually begins to bubble out. People can recognize when the joy of God is present in someone’s life.
Scripture also speaks of a garment expressive of praise instead of a heavy, burdened, and failing spirit. When the presence and power of God touch us, praise begins to flow. It does not have to be forced.
That is one of the things I love about revival. When revival meetings first begin, people may arrive tired, burdened, weary, or simply not ready to respond. But as the Word is preached and the presence of God begins touching people, something changes. After the second or third meeting, people begin worshiping God freely. Nobody has to force it out of them. Worship simply begins to flow because they have been refreshed by the presence of God. The heavy burden has been lifted, and the garment of praise begins to manifest.
The Church Needs Fresh Empowering
This is especially important for people in ministry. Ministry can be difficult. Pastors deal with the burdens and problems of other people while also dealing with challenges within their own families. Every family has issues that need the touch of heaven. Ministers need more than human ability to carry these responsibilities. We need the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.
We need to return to our roots. We need to return to the church God established on the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon and filled ordinary men and women. They were simple people, yet they were transformed by the power of God. They went out and did the greater works Jesus said they would do.
God wants that for His church today. He wants it for every individual believer. Whether you are in full-time ministry or simply attend a local church, God wants you anointed so that your life can make a difference in the lives of others.
Receive Christ and Be Filled with the Spirit
If you have never asked Jesus to come into your life, you can receive Him today. Thank Him that He died for you and shed His blood for your sins. Receive Him as your Lord and Savior. Ask Him to come into your life and make you a new creation in Christ, where old things pass away and all things become new. Ask Him to change you by the power of the Holy Spirit as you serve Him and live for Him.
If you are born again but have never been filled with the Holy Spirit, invite Him to fill you. If you are already filled with the Spirit, then seek a fresh encounter with God. We need fresh oil from heaven.
Drink of the Living Water
Jesus said that if anyone is thirsty, let him come to Him and drink, and out of his innermost being will flow rivers of living water. He did not say merely to come and think about it. He said to come and drink. When you drink of the living water, something happens within you. Living water brings life. Living water brings peace. It brings the blessings Jesus accomplished for you at the cross.
Ask the Lord for that fresh oil. Drink of the living waters He promised. Thank Him for the river flowing out of you to bring change into your life, your family, your church, and everything you set your hand to do.
Get alone with the Lord. Find a quiet place where you will not be distracted. Put aside your phone, close your eyes, lift your hands to heaven, and receive the glory and presence of God. Allow the Holy Spirit to refresh you. God wants to bring change, freedom, healing, joy, and peace into your life.
Revival Leads to the Harvest
Revival is not supposed to end with us simply enjoying revival. Revival produces something beyond itself: the harvest. When people are revived, refreshed, filled, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, the gospel can go outward and touch the lives of others. That is what revival is meant to produce. We are revived so that the life and power of God flowing through us can reach people who desperately need Him.
Source: Episode 0150, Revival at Cape Henry, with Host Pastor Larry Reece and Guest Gil Howard-Browne.
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