Part of the Total Plan

"They that are after the Spirit mind the things of the Spirit" (Romans 8:5)

The Spirit-filled life is not a special, deluxe edition of Christianity. It is part and parcel of the total plan of God for His people.

You must be satisfied that it is not abnormal. I admit that it is unusual, because there are so few people who walk in the light of it or enjoy it, but it is NOT abnormal. This is unusual only because our spiritual lives are so wretchedly sick and so far down from where they should be.

You must be satisfied, again, that there is nothing about the Holy Spirit queer or strange or eerie.

I believe it has been the work of the devil to surround the person of the Holy Spirit with an aura of queerness, or strangeness, so that the people of God feel that this Spirit-filled life is a life of being odd and peculiar, of being a bit uncanny. That is not true, my friend! The devil manufactured that.

The Holy Spirit is pure, for He is the Holy Spirit.
He is wise, for He is the Spirit of wisdom.
He is true, for He is the Spirit of truth.

~A. W. Tozer~

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No Persuasion Necessary

"They ... sought him with their whole desire, and he was found of them: and the Lord gave them rest round about" (2 Chronicles 15:15)

There is nothing eerie, nothing queer, nothing contrary to the normal operations of the human heart about the Holy Spirit. He is only the essence of Jesus imparted to believers. You read the four Gospels and see for yourself how wonderfully calm, pure, sane, simple, sweet, natural and lovable Jesus was. Even philosophers who don't believe in His deity have to admit the lovableness of His character.

You must be sure of all this to the point of conviction. That is, you must be convinced to a point where you won't try to persuade God.

You don't have to persuade God at all. There is no persuasion necessary. Dr. Simpson used to say, "Being filled with the Spirit is as easy as breathing; you can simply breathe out and breathe in."

Jesus, breathe Thy spirit on me,
Teach me how to breathe Thee in,
Help me pour into Thy bosom
All my life of self and sin.

~A. W. Tozer~