Refilling of the Holy Spirit

gratefulgrace

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There is no need to be re-filled because the Holy Spirit doesn't leak out of us. Fasting sounds great to the flesh but honestly its you trying to do something in the flesh to "twist" God's arm and get Him to do something for you. I am basing my statment on the bible. It says we live by faith not by fasting. Faith is confessing what you believe only...or I should say what is written until you fully believe it.

So then what to do? Start believing and confessing that Jesus is so close to you, He loves you so much and just begin to receive and be conscious of His love for you. There is nothing you can do for Him to love you more. Start listening to anointed messages that preach the grace of God. Start relaxing, Jesus did all the work for you on the cross but that doesn't mean you have to start working after your salvation. Depend on His finished work and unmerited favor toward you. The bible says when you don't know what to pray ask the Holy Spirit to interceed for you and begin praying in the Holy Spirit. Just start thanking Him for everything and praising Him for anything. Do it out of the knowledge of His love for you and not out of something you feel you have to do.

There are a few great books to read by Joseph Prince called Destined to Reign and the other is Unmerited Favor. These are great books and you can listen to his messages online.

These feelings are normal for most all christians even for pastors so don't think you are the only one going through this. People who say otherwise are either lying or dead. Religion will tell you these feelings are bad and you are away from God but truth be told they have no idea and are putting on a "holy" act.
Satan has the ability to give you these thoughts in your mind, this is his job so don't get upset or think God is mad at you or you are losing it.... just relax listen to a message about how much God loves you or start thanking Jesus for being with you right then and that He will never leave you....never feel condemned for anything, always confess your righteousness of God in Christ!

You are God's beloved.

This is true but there is still a place for fasting not because we are proving anything to God about who we are but because it often gives us more time to do what you suggest and that is to seek God. Jesus fasted and prayed so I wouldn't be dissing the practise. ANd yes I believe that fasting of TV and other leisure activities is good if food is not an option. It worked for David Wilkerson.
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Handmaid for Jesus

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I believe that as we minister unto others, virtue goes out of us into the person(s) we are ministering to. We see our Lord Jesus experiencing such here
Luke 8:46And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.

This is when the woman with the issue of blood touched Him.
When I was younger, the older saints would caution us about trying to minister without being "prayed up". My seminary instructor told his students to minister off of our "overflow". We are to be filled to overflowing with His Spirit. The best way I know to stay charged is through fasting, prayer, and scripture reading. I don't know how other people do it but it is what I do, along with praise and worship.

If I do not do these things I find my spiritual fervor diminished. We minister just by being. I know some people will not believe that, but we are salt and light and just by the act of walking into a room, our lights shine and we season the place even if we do not say a word.
 
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tturt

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When Adam and Eve sinned, they lost ground spiritually but they were still Yahweh's children. To me this illustrates there are positions, levels, whatever word you want to use. Now we can repent and we're restored then as Handmaid for Jesus and others have posted, there are increases and decreases. When Jesus was on the earth, there were times He spent alone with Yahweh. When we worship Yahweh in spirit, there are definite increases.

As harsh as some discussions get on these forums, can you imagine what this place would be like if we didn't spend time with Him?
 
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JimB

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"refilling of the Holy Spirit?" I think we are only filled once. All of us at one time or another may not "feel" as close to God but when this happens; we just need to get in His word and read, read, read. I find that this helps me to close the "feeling" of distance.

Being filled with the Spirit is not a "feeling" and we can't rely on feelings. When we are born again and filled with the Spirit; God has placed his seed in us via the Holy Spirit and it remains forever because we are born of God. (1 John 3:9)

There is no need to be re-filled because the Holy Spirit doesn't leak out of us. Fasting sounds great to the flesh but honestly its you trying to do something in the flesh to "twist" God's arm and get Him to do something for you. I am basing my statment on the bible. It says we live by faith not by fasting. Faith is confessing what you believe only...or I should say what is written until you fully believe it.

So then what to do? Start believing and confessing that Jesus is so close to you, He loves you so much and just begin to receive and be conscious of His love for you. There is nothing you can do for Him to love you more. Start listening to anointed messages that preach the grace of God. Start relaxing, Jesus did all the work for you on the cross but that doesn't mean you have to start working after your salvation. Depend on His finished work and unmerited favor toward you. The bible says when you don't know what to pray ask the Holy Spirit to interceed for you and begin praying in the Holy Spirit. Just start thanking Him for everything and praising Him for anything. Do it out of the knowledge of His love for you and not out of something you feel you have to do.

There are a few great books to read by Joseph Prince called Destined to Reign and the other is Unmerited Favor. These are great books and you can listen to his messages online.

These feelings are normal for most all christians even for pastors so don't think you are the only one going through this. People who say otherwise are either lying or dead. Religion will tell you these feelings are bad and you are away from God but truth be told they have no idea and are putting on a "holy" act.
Satan has the ability to give you these thoughts in your mind, this is his job so don't get upset or think God is mad at you or you are losing it.... just relax listen to a message about how much God loves you or start thanking Jesus for being with you right then and that He will never leave you....never feel condemned for anything, always confess your righteousness of God in Christ!

You are God's beloved.
Hmmm?

Then, if we cannot be "refilled," explain why the disciples in Acts 4.31 were all filled with the Holy Spirit (again) when the Bible tells us they were already filled in Acts 2.4?

~Jim
 
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Presbyterian Continuist

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It's pretty simple really. It all has to do with your faith.
Here are some questions:
Do you believe that the filling of the Spirit is still God's will for you?
Do you believe that when you asked for the Spirit to come into your life, that God gave Him to you?
Do you believe that when you accepted Him into your life, He came in and you were baptised and filled with the Spirit?
Did you allow the Spirit to flow out of you by speaking in tongues?

If you can answer "yes" to these questions, then the Holy Spirit is still there within you, because the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

You need to reactivate your faith, and stop listening to that lying spirit that is trying to tell you that you are no longer filled with the Spirit. You need to shut that lying spirit down in the Name of Jesus, reactivate your faith by praising God in tongues. Then you will be set free and the living water will flow out of you again.

You see, the blockage is that you have stopped basing your Spirit filled life on faith in God's Word and started to look too much at your feelings. That's how the lying spirit was able to start trying to convince you that you were no longer filled with the Spirit.

We have to be sober and vigilant because the devil is right there to neutralise your faith and misdirect you. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
 
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Smiler33

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Hi Oscarr, thank you for your message.

I definitely answer a big yes to all your questions I should be asking myself. I don't feel like the Holy Spirit is no longer within me; I just would like to feel more of him and thus become even closer to the Holy Trinity. I don't believe the evil one is telling me the Spirit has gone; if he tried that I'd realise it. He does quite often make me wonder if what I am saying is really tongues, but I know that we have had this conversation before - I truly believe when I pray in tongues God can hear what I am saying so the doubt doesn't last long.

I've always been susceptible to relying too much on feelings and as I posted before am trying to let that not be the case. It seems to me that sometimes you get hooked onto the feelings you get at a big event etc and get the 'wow factor' but we have to lead our everyday lives too! Feelings are just too unreliable but God's love for us is totally totally reliable.

What's the best way to reactive my faith or rather I'd say gee it up rather than start from cold as it's not gone by any means! Is it a case of reading the Word as much as I can and praying (in tongues and English) along with fasting in my own way?
 
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Hi Oscarr, thank you for your message.

I definitely answer a big yes to all your questions I should be asking myself. I don't feel like the Holy Spirit is no longer within me; I just would like to feel more of him and thus become even closer to the Holy Trinity. I don't believe the evil one is telling me the Spirit has gone; if he tried that I'd realise it. He does quite often make me wonder if what I am saying is really tongues, but I know that we have had this conversation before - I truly believe when I pray in tongues God can hear what I am saying so the doubt doesn't last long.

I've always been susceptible to relying too much on feelings and as I posted before am trying to let that not be the case. It seems to me that sometimes you get hooked onto the feelings you get at a big event etc and get the 'wow factor' but we have to lead our everyday lives too! Feelings are just too unreliable but God's love for us is totally totally reliable.

What's the best way to reactive my faith or rather I'd say gee it up rather than start from cold as it's not gone by any means! Is it a case of reading the Word as much as I can and praying (in tongues and English) along with fasting in my own way?

Thanks for the blessings.

You can't have any more of the Spirit than you have already. The Holy Spirit is a person, and that complete person is dwelling with your spirit. So, with the indwelling of the Spirit, you are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. You cannot gain more by more praying in tongues, fasting, or reading the Word. The fullness of the Spirit is in you through God's grace. You didn't earn His presence in you. He was promised to you, you received Him, and He is living within you.

It is a matter of using your faith and utilising the tools and abilities that come with the indwelling of the Spirit. There are nine gifts, and several ministries. What you need to do is to find out which areas the Lord wants you to move in, and then use your faith to use the tools available to you to do the ministry.

Being part of a fellowship of like minded people who can fellowship with you and mentor you is a good thing. You will see that anyone who started a ministry in the New Testament was commissioned by the local church. The Scripture says that a person's gift will make room, and if you are called to be one of the five ministries, or even a combination of them, if the local church you are attending is "in the Spirit" they will recognise your calling and will give you room to do the will of God as revealed to you.

Now, reading the Word, and speaking in tongues are essential in getting you into your ministry. Reading the Word and good Christian literature that is based on the Word gives you training, insight and knowledge that will be the foundation. Using as much spare time as you can speaking in tongues will build up your faith and awareness of the moving of the Spirit, and will make you more sensitive to the voice of God.

Be aware that increased speaking in tongues will put you right in the path of the attacks of the devil. He is a deceiver and will put all sorts of doubts in your mind. Total trust in God's Word will deal with those doubts, but it will be quite a battle.

So, it is not a matter of having "more" of the Spirit, but increasingly working in cooperation with Him in doing the will of God for your life and ministry.

 
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Smiler33

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As ever, thank you so much for your reply Oscarr. I go to a lovely Church but it doesn't seem to me to be terribly spiritual; even to the point where people start shifting uneasily in their seat even if the word tongues is mentioned! Our pastor is trying to get through this; there's been a lot of hurt caused which pre-dates him and the congregation seem jittery of anything a bit 'from the Spirit' whilst I love it all!!! There are people who have gifts, but it's not immediately obvious.

I know the gifts of the Spirit but I have to say I don't know about the ministries - can you tell me where I could find that in the Bible so I can find out about it please? A few people have said I fill them with joy which is lovely but I don't know how that relates to all of this. So many questions!!!!

I'll keep praying, reading the Word and see where I go from here. I have to say at the moment I don't feel at all sensitive to the Spirit and I don't think I've ever heard God's word but I've only actually been a Christian for 2 years so got a whole lot to learn.
 
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ai3theanswer

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Smiler33, Oscarr makes some great points!

First of all relax, you hear His voice all the time. It might not be audible but you hear it. If you are reading the bible and something draws your attention, then that is Holy Spirit speaking to you. If you have a thought to do something nice for someone that is (most times if not all) Holy Spirit speaking to you, its never satan.
Jesus said my sheep hear my voice, if you are one of His then remember He tells the truth.

You don't have to perform, read the bible (its encouraged), pray long prayers, you just hear it. His voice is NEVER condemning or as some people on here would call it convicting. The only thing Holy Spirit does is convict you of your righteousness in Christ. Now I am sure a lot of religious people will protest that He convicts/condemns your for sins but that is not true. Holy Spirit is not a nag!

Start speaking out, confessing and thanking the Lord that He is so close to you and praising Him in those times you feel He is 1000000 miles away. Before long you won't be conscious of how far He is but of how much He loves you and how close He is all the time.

Get an ipod and listen to messages about this good news, about His grace. Speak in tongues and trust that you are being changed and edified.
Read the bible slow and enjoy it, asking Holy Spirit to speak to you and give you revelation of Jesus.
Also I would say to avoid reading most posts on here....they are packed full of the bad news gospel and religion.

Again I know I have said this before but if you want to learn a great book is Destined to Reign by Joseph Prince and maybe a correspondence bible course would be good too. I would personally recommend Kenneth E Hagin correspondence course off of the Rhema website. Its great foundational teaching that is bible. Again there are a lot of Hagin haters but anything great in the kingdom of God is worth attacking by satan.
 
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As ever, thank you so much for your reply Oscarr. I go to a lovely Church but it doesn't seem to me to be terribly spiritual; even to the point where people start shifting uneasily in their seat even if the word tongues is mentioned! Our pastor is trying to get through this; there's been a lot of hurt caused which pre-dates him and the congregation seem jittery of anything a bit 'from the Spirit' whilst I love it all!!! There are people who have gifts, but it's not immediately obvious.

I know the gifts of the Spirit but I have to say I don't know about the ministries - can you tell me where I could find that in the Bible so I can find out about it please? A few people have said I fill them with joy which is lovely but I don't know how that relates to all of this. So many questions!!!!

I'll keep praying, reading the Word and see where I go from here. I have to say at the moment I don't feel at all sensitive to the Spirit and I don't think I've ever heard God's word but I've only actually been a Christian for 2 years so got a whole lot to learn.

It sounds like people in your church have been exposed to teaching and practices that have caused damage, disappointment and disillusionment to them, to the point that they have rejected the gifts altogether. They seem to have thrown the baby out with the bathwater and retreated back into their comfort zones. If that is so, it is quite understandable. It sounds like the pastor has his work cut out for him.

My view is that the people need to be retrained in the use of the gifts of the Spirit, but with a different attitude, with the hype and the shonky bits removed. I don't know what position you hold in the church, or how much respect that others have for you. It may be possible for you to start up a home group for the purpose of retaining people in the prophetic and the use of the gifts of the Spirit.

I am involved in the Gospel Faith Messenger ministry which concentrates on the prophetic. I have found this an excellent way of approaching the gifts of the Spirit, and it is all done in a worshop environment. During our equipping days and meetings we promote a non-critical environment where no one worries if someone makes a mistake. It is an excellent training ground and non threatening.

You can access the website by going to The Gospel Faith Messenger. It has all sorts of resources on it that you can use. There are agencies in the U.K., and there might be one near you. Rodney Francis is the founder, and he travels around the world, and has been to the U.K. on a number of occasions. You can get on his email list to see where he is at any time of the year. If he gets back to the U.K. and he ministers anywhere near you, by all means make the effort to hear him.

My website (see below) has resources that you can use for training your group. I am at present prepared for an equipping evening, preaching in a church next weekend, and for an equipping day early July. I am going to show how that using the gifts on the basis of the fruit of the Spirit is the most appropriate way of ministering in the Spirit, and the best way of assuring that the Gifts are used without causing harm to people. I will send you my notes when I have finished them.

To start a group, you don't need to start big. Five or six people is a good start. Teach them well and this will form a very good "fifth column" in your church. When people get the assurance that the gifts can be used to build up believers and encourage them, you will find people will start to warm to what is happening.

I hope this is helpful to you.
 
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Smiler33

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Thanks so much ai3theanswer for Oscarr for your lovely post. You are so right ai3theanswer that I need to relax and do as you suggest - I'll try!!!!

Oscarr, I'm afraid your idea of setting up a home group would not be right for me - I am a member of the church but people don't know me, I'm not confident to run a group (I suffer from anxiety, depression and OCD) and I just wouldn't be able to do it.

Our pastor really wants us to move on and put the past behind us (we've literally just decided to radically change our church and do a lot of building work) so I am hoping that with a new start things will change - I am sure our pastor wants the gifts of the Spirit to be more in evidence and not all be 'in the underground'.
 
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