A fresh, bubbling spring!

October 17, 2007

By Jerry Scott

In a recent conversation, a man told me about his religious upbringing. He was devoted to his church and went faithfully to worship services in which he was a participant and not simply an observer. He was well acquainted with the rituals. But all this religion made little difference in his life. Despite seeing the images of Christ and hearing the words of the Scripture, he was a cultural Christian only.

Then he met a woman who loved Jesus and in whom the Holy Spirit was alive. Over time, in prayer, and through some intense trials he opened his heart and mind to God. He was changed from the inside out. I’ve heard that story, with varying detail, hundreds of times!

The New Testament tells much the same story. John the Baptist preached a stern message of repentance, calling people to turn back to God and baptizing them in a symbolic ritual of cleansing. But he pointed beyond himself to the One who would bring real and lasting change. John promised, “I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!” (Mark 1:8, CEV).

Jesus directed the disciples to wait until they were full of the Spirit before they went out to tell the world about His resurrection. He said, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. … You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:4,8, NLT).

Decades later, Paul was preaching in the city of Ephesus, when he found some devout men trying to please God. They had been baptized with a cleansing act based in repentance. He told them there was more to knowing God. “As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied” (Acts 19:5,6).

Are you filled with the Spirit of God? I am not asking you if you know God, or if you have had mystical experiences, or even if you are a Christian!

Is there an empowering Presence that is part of your life that makes a difference in you? I am not speaking of some weekend experience that provided a moment of spiritual bliss, nor am I describing an emotional response to a highly charged revival atmosphere. I am pointing to a life of the Spirit that Jesus said was like a “a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life” (John 4:14).

If you’re tired of a Christianity that is disconnected from your daily life, if you’re through with the cycle of sin and regret, if you want to be genuinely changed — it is time to seek the Lord! With a simple faith and an open heart, turn to Him and ask to be baptized in the Spirit.

You will discover the life He gives is as different as day from night in comparison to the old religion you knew before. Yes, trials will still come your way. Yes, you will still fall prey to temptation from time to time. Yes, your personality will remain intact! But, you will become a person who is full of the Spirit — renewed from the inside out — in an ongoing process that is not of your doing, but rather is the work of God in you.

Jerry D. Scott is senior pastor of Washington (N.J.) Assembly of God.