I know I should be writing about my experience in my travels, about all the differences and difficulties, but the main subjects that have been on my mind are about my life and my faith. I have reasoned this is related to the spiritual darkness and tension in this part of the world. In India the Hindu believe in many different gods relating them to a wide range of elements such as animals, men, legends, nature, and even more, to hard to explain. The people are very dedicated to them, worshiping and bringing sacrifices very regularly. Which god they choose to worship depends on the situation they are in. With this being said it’s easy to imagine then how open these people are to the spiritual. Getting a crowd together to listen about Jesus Christ isn’t very hard to do and furthermore having them accept, believe in, and even pray to Jesus is just as easy. The main problem isn’t belief, it’s getting them to understand that Jesus is truly the only way to heaven and having them abandon all of their other gods. I personally believe they are worshiping demons and/or evil spirits. It reminds me in a lot of ways of the old testament books when God is strictly warning His people not to participate in the worshiping of idols that all of the surrounding pagan nations where doing. So one can clearly see this isn’t anything new under the sun, it has been going on since the beginning of time.
I have found myself in the middle of this long history of spirituality and am beginning to feel the affects and see the symptoms of spiritual tension in my own life. I’ve received much advice from people in the ministry and they all say to expect this kind of attack but I’ve never experienced it as much as I do now. When I was young I thought the devil was always creating or somehow constructing situations and problems in my life somewhat like in the book of Job where he has permission from God to afflict Job.(Job 1:1) Today I have a different view on the way the enemy works out his schemes. Instead of viewing the situation as a spiritual attack I see it more of an issue with my own spiritual weakness. The Bible tells us to arm ourselves with spiritual armor, to put on or apply the whole armor of God. In the passage the different parts of the armor are listed and each of them have to do with one central concept, truth. As believers we hold to the truth found in Gods word and we fight our spiritual battles with the knowledge of His truth. This is why it is so important to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ and to meditate on His words day and night. I’ve come to realize whenever I stumble, whenever I seem weak, when my temper flares up faster than normal is usually due to my lack of regular reading and prayer. I believe this is the main source of all of my problems, whenever I allow my Spiritual devotion and discipline to slip then I begin slip.
To be completely honest this is not a new lesson for me. During my time in “every mans battle for purity” at River Valley this concept was drilled into my mind. My struggle has not been in my lack of knowing what needs to be done but in how to cross the line into action. For example, if someone memorizes every truth, command, promise, and teaching found in the Holy Bible but does not live in obedience to them, at the end the day all he has is knowledge. It’s the difference between knowing all about God (head knowledge) and actually knowing God (relationship knowledge). For a long time I’ve known what to do, known what is written, and even taught others from the Bible on how we should live. But I’m tired of knowing how I should live and I’m ready to live.
Sometimes it can be overwhelming to think about the standard of living God has called us to. Jesus said pray for your enemies, forgive everyone, give to anyone who ask from you, lay down your life for others, and so many more teachings just as difficult to obey. So then, how do I begin to do this? How am I going to be able to move forward and begin to live out a life of obedience in these areas? How will I be able to improve my character to begin to reflect the very character of Christ? I believe some of the answers are found in John 14:15-21 and John 16:5-16. Jesus said if He did not go away the Holy Spirit, the counselor, would not come. I never really understood the how great the promise of the Holy Spirit is, the old testament is saturated with prophecies promising the coming of Gods salvation. Some people consider salvation one thing and receiving the Holy Spirit as an extra different thing but they are directly related. In 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Paul declares that we are the temple of God, that Gods Holy Spirit lives in us! I know this may not be a new revelation for most people but what I have recently learned has completely opened my eyes to the specifics of the Holy Spirits role in the life of believers. The popular and somewhat controversial argument has always been about the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” and the “speaking in tongues” as a sign of proof of baptism. Luke 3:16-17; Acts 19:1-7. When does a person receive this, at the moment of belief in Jesus or sometime afterwards? Some extreme views even go so far as to say a person isn’t truly saved unless they have have “received” the Holy Spirit.
I now wish to share some of my thoughts and views about the Holy Spirit based on what I’ve been learning during my time in India. This touchy subject has always been difficult for me to sort out and explain to others and even myself. If I have an experience I can explain it to others but they will never relate completely until they have had the same experience for themselves. I began speaking and praying in tongues at a young age and I was taught that it is a gift for self edification, the encouragement and strengthening of my faith. I also watched and listened to my pastor and other elders in my church as they spoke in tongues while praying for people to be healed or praying for something miraculous to happen. Because of this I always related speaking in tongues to somehow summoning Gods power to do amazing things. I had been missing the point for so long, I knew praying in tongues was a good thing but I never fully understood what was happening ever time I did. I now see it like this, whenever a person hears the gospel of Jesus and makes a decision to believe and repent then that person is Spiritually reborn at which point Gods spirit is alive in that person. The Holy Spirit then works like a probe inside of the persons being searching the heart and motives. From the vantage point the Holy Spirit has from within He begins to say to the person, Listen, I see all of these areas in your life that need help and I can help you if you allow me. It is still the believers free choice to make wether or not he will allow the Holy Spirit to help change the weak areas in his life. I believe speaking in tongues is the sign of when a person understands the great need for the Holy Spirits help and decides to ask for it. The Spirit intercedes on behalf of the believer according to the will of God for the purpose of purifying and renewing the persons character.
At the end of these thoughts all I know is the more I pray in tongues the more the Holy Spirit begins to shine a big light on all of the dark areas of my life and begins to work on those areas of pride, selfishness, anger, and much more. Speaking in tongues is no longer something I do to summon power or to charge up for something miraculous, its to allow myself to be humbled and refined by the Holy Spirit so that my character will be transformed to reflect love. I recommend it for everyone I know who is trying to live up to the standards of Holy living on their own strength and are feeling burnt out. Ask, seek, knock. Luke 11: 9-13.
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