Fully Alive

These past few weeks our men's class at church has been working through one of my favorite all books -- Waking the Dead by John Eldredge. I've already read it, but while re-reading each chapter it's very clear why this book had such an impact on me. He urges us believers to claim the power we have through the risen Christ. To really believe that Christ has given us a new heart and that heart is good. And when we surrender ourselves to Jesus Christ we are not only forgiven but filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. And so claim that power and walk in that power. "We say that Christ died for us, and that is true," writes Eldredge. "But Christ was also raised for us."

This made me think of my journey with Christ. For too many years after accepting Christ, being baptized and getting involved in local churches where ever I lived, I didn't hear much about living by the power of the Holy Spirit. If anything was said about the Holy Spirit, it was often in terms of criticism of "Pentecostals" or "Charismatics." And quite frankly, when I began hearing people talk about being filled with the Spirit or being baptized in the Spirit, it scared me. Whether I was conscious of it or not, I didn't want to give up control. Or admit that I was wrong. Or consent to the fact that I was missing something in my life, that I was not living much of an empowered life through Christ. Yes, I felt forgiven and that God had given me a new life. But I had not consciously asked Jesus Christ to fill me with His Spirit, to take complete control of my life.

I love this Richard Foster quote::

“It is our job (as Christians) to surrender ourselves to the awesome work of the Holy Spirit and to engage ourselves in activities that enable the Spirit to equip and empower us. Many of us try to become faithful disciples without the power of the Holy Spirit…Much of our struggle and failure to live effectively can be traced to the fact that we have not surrendered to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.”

That was my story for the first several years as a Christian – trying to be a faithful disciple

without an awareness of and dependence upon the power of the Holy Spirit.
In my experience, being transformed by Christ through His Holy Spirit has involved allowing Him to break my pride – like He did one Saturday morning in Denton, Texas more than 12 years ago. The football stadium at the University of North Texas was packed that Saturday morning with several thousand men. But we weren’t there for a football game. Rather, it was a divinely appointed event where we were about to encounter the living presence of Jesus Christ in a profound way. It was an exhilarating moment – and yet it scared me to death. And that’s exactly what I needed – to die more to self and come alive in the Spirit. It’s involved having to say “No” to my will and surrendering to Jesus each day.

I resisted Christ that day, I’m ashamed to admit. And throughout the rest of the day I trembled and felt so restless, with no peace. It would take more moments and experiences from the Lord that made me finally wave that white flag and surrender. One of the most significant experiences was going on a Walk to Emmaus. That really was a turning point in my life.

After going on this Walk, and then working them, God gave me this hunger to experience Him more. I began taking out to lunch men whom I believed could teach me more about the Holy Spirit. I started reading books like Charles Stanley’s The Wonderful Spirit Filled Life and an old book called They Found the Secret, stories of Christians who experienced a deeper life in Christ after being broken and recognizing their deep need for Holy Spirit. God gave me this passion for prayer which motivated me to begin organizing prayer vigils at my church and the ministry where I worked.

I like this quote, “The Holy Spirit is not given to those who have it all together spiritually; He is given to enable us to get it together spiritually! The Spirit is given to enable you to break sin’s power. He indwells us so that He might control us.”

And I read and prayed over and over Ephesians 5:18, where Paul exhorts us as believers:

“Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, let the Holy Spirit fill and control you.”

From my past sins, I certainly knew what being drunk on wine felt like. But I now wanted to let the Holy Spirit fill me. I found it fascinating that this verb is a command, it’s passive, and it’s ongoing. In other words, we’re to allow Jesus Christ to continually take control of our lives.

During this journey a dear friend at work attended an Alpha conference in Dallas where he learned about evangelism in the power of the Spirit. He ate lunch with me and told all about the exciting things the Lord taught him there. After our lunch, he walked around his desk, laid hands on me and prayed that I would be filled with the Holy Spirit.

In moments like these I wanted so much some unique sensation…but came to realize that I just need to accept by faith that as I continually ask Jesus to fill me with His Spirit…He’ll do it. I rest in His promises and walk in faith, not by sight.

To become more fully alive in Christ has meant claiming my identity that I have died with Christ. I love the paraphrase in The Message of Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central...Christ lives in me. The life you now see me living is not "mine," but is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me. I am not going to go back on that."

I'm not going back on that either, Paul. I want to I'm not going back on that either, Paul. I want to be more fully alive to Jesus. And to let more and more people know that He died for their sins and was raised and is alive and active in this world. And He so much wants to become a living presence in us!

Jim