THE TRUTH THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING
You must take this in. It will transform your entire existence. The Chinese saint, Watchman Née, born in 1903, said:
“I could shout with joy as I think, ‘The Spirit who dwells within me is no mere influence, but a living Person; He is very God. The infinite God is within my heart!’ I am at a loss to convey to you the blessedness of this discovery, that the Holy Spirit living within my heart is a Person. I can only repeat: ‘He is a Person!’ and repeat it again: ‘He is a Person!’ and repeat it yet again: ‘He is a Person!’ Oh, my friends, I would fain repeat it to you 100 times—The Spirit of God within me is a Person! I am only an earthen vessel, but in that earthen vessel, I carry a treasure of unspeakable worth, even the Lord of glory” (The Normal Christian Life).
Then he asks this question: “Do you know, there are resources enough in your own heart to meet the demand of every circumstance in which you ever find yourself? ...You do not just carry your Bible with you, or even much good teaching about God, but God Himself.”
This morning, as I (Gayle) was reading my Bible, I found myself in John 8:37-38. These amazing verses say, “On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, 'Anyone who is thirsty may come to Me! Anyone who believes in Me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’ (When He said ‘living water,’ He was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in Him).”
Who is the Holy Spirit given to? “ANYONE who is thirsty.” What do you have to do to receive Him? “Anyone who believes in Him may come and drink.” You don’t have to do anything except believe in Jesus, and come and drink. What will happen when you come and drink? “Rivers of living water will flow from your heart.”
The rivers of living water that will flow from your innermost being are the Holy Spirit. He isn’t a drip or a drop. He is a mighty river who gushes from within and infuses your entire being with His presence and power. The Scriptures again say, “The same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us” Romans 8:11.
You do not do anything more to earn having the Holy Spirit live inside of you than you do to earn your salvation. If you have believed, He is there. He is already there, but you release Him to flow through you by humility, surrender, and brokenness. Just this morning, I tried to squeeze something out of a tube. What I needed was definitely inside. I soon realized that the seal had to be broken in order for what was already inside to come out. Just as the seal on the tube had to be broken for the lotion to flow, we have to be broken for the Holy Spirit, who already lives inside of us, to be released.
This truth changes everything!
