I am convinced that many ministry leaders and workers fail to flow with the Holy Spirit because they honestly don’t truly know Him. Really? Really! Perhaps they have heard about Him, possibly read about Him, religiously mentioned His name in the Apostles’ Creed, and even dared to teach about Him. But, few really, really, really know Him.
How can this be? I believe that this lack of relationship results from the Holy Spirit knowingly or unknowingly being identified as nothing more than a mystical, indescribable mass or force. You know exactly what I’m talking about because you’ve witnessed ministry leaders suffering from a horrible case of what I call the “It Syndrome”. To these Jesus-loving believers, the Holy Spirit is nothing more than an “it”.
Believe me when I write, this isn’t a new syndrome. Going back to biblical days, knowing that we can’t identify with an “it”, Jesus sought to destroy this “It Syndrome” mentality as He informed His disciples that this invisible part of the Godhead is so desirous of being so “us” minded (wanting to be in a relationship with us) that the Holy Spirit has taken upon Himself the attributes of human personality. In the passage of scripture that we read in John 14-16, Jesus purposefully refers to the Holy Spirit with the pronouns “He”, “Him”, and “Himself” nineteen times.
(Please read the following four sentences three or four times to allow them to fully sink in.) The “He”, “Him”, and “Himself” cause us to understand that the Holy Spirit wants to be KNOWable. This KNOWable Holy Spirit is able and willing to become PERSONable. The PERSONable Holy Spirit is able to be CONNECTable to and with us each and every day! We can walk with Him, talk with Him, listen to His voice, sense His joys and frustrations, etc.
The following question is the sole purpose of this blog post. Are you infected with the “It Syndrome”? If so, allow me to introduce you to my friend, the Holy Spirit. Take a second and be courteous. Introduce yourself and then apologize for not having known Him up to this point. Begin to include Him (the Person) in your daily walk. Talk to Him throughout your day. Make appointments in your schedule to allow quiet, intimate times for the two of you to dialogue. You’ll be glad that you did!!!
Awesome read. I was directed to Acts 1: 8 this morning. Where Jesus said we would receive power. That word power translates to dynamite. Explosive power, I want to tap into that power that’s inside of me for the Glory of God. Thank you Jesus and thank you Pastor Billy.