THE FORGOTTEN GOD
Most would agree that “SOMETHING” is missing in the lives of most believers and in local churches today. WHAT IS THAT SOMETHING? I believe that what is missing is not “SOMETHING,” but “SOMEONE,” and that SOMEONE IS NONE OTHER THAN THE HOLY SPIRIT. A member of a local church said to me recently, “What our church needs is the Holy Spirit,” to which I replied, “Amen, every church needs the Holy Spirit for without Him the church is just another social entity, “having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof,” to quote Paul (2 Tim. 3:5).
While no true evangelical would outright deny the Holy Spirit, most of them live powerless lives, because many of whom have never experienced the “new birth,” of the Holy Spirit, or if they have, they believe the work of the Holy Spirit ends with the new birth. In fact the Holy Spirit has become “The Forgotten God” in many lives and churches. A faithful member of my first church out of the Seminary, asked me this question, “Bill, do Baptists believe in the Holy Spirit? Why would this guy ask such a question? Not because he was intelligently ignorant, but because the Holy Spirit had been ignored for years in the church. However, after emphasizing the place of the Holy Spirit in human experience, I saw Him move in mighty power, revive the church, and made it a witness to the entire State until I was invited twice to speak to the State Convention on the miracle of what God had been doing in that church. But alas 40 years later the church grieved the Holy Spirit, divided, and ceased to exist, except for a dozen attendants.
“The Mission of Mentoring Men for the Master, Int’l, based in Wilmington, N.C. is to teach men “to conform to the image of Christ” (Romans 8:29), and we stress that this transformation can only take place by the power of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit in their lives.”[1]
Thus in Mentoring, “THE INFILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT,” is the 2nd Imperative for Spiritual Growth (10 “I’s”).
This Week’s Lesson, Friday and Saturday, will consist of the following:
1. Understanding Why There Is No Christianity Without The Holy Spirit:
a. The Holy Spirit is the “Executive of the Godhead.”
b. Illustration: Comparing the work of the Trinity to three members of the healing team medically.
2. The Biblical Nomenclature of The Holy Spirit – Example: Defining and Showing the difference of the New Birth from the Infilling, the difference between the baptism and the infilling, etc.
3. The Biblical Imperative to Be Filled as much as to be born again.
4. Why The Necessity of The Infilling
5. The Requirements for The Infilling.
6. The Results of The Infilling.
7. The Relation of The Infilling to the other 9 Imperatives (10 “I’s.)
IN PREPARATION FOR THIS WEEK’S LESSON, BE SURE WITHOUT FAIL OR EXCUSE TO READ THE CHAPTER ON THE INFILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN OUR TEXT BOOK, The 10 Absolute Life Changers of Men, pp. 15-43.
Also Read My Book, The Indispensable Role of the Holy Spirit.