I will free you from being slaves to them and will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment....then you will know that I am the Lord your God who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians (Ex. 6:6-7).
Let my people go, that they may worship me (Ex. 8:1).
No one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 1:3).
All my life, I went to church. All my life, I loved God, and in fact, knew God. He drew me to morning mass during the summer months when I was not in school. He drew me often to the church during recess or lunch for a brief "touch base." And He taught me to pray. I loved to read the lives of the saints and to think about what it means to "love" God. Still, with all of that, there was something missing, though I had little idea of what it was.
I did not know what it meant to praise and worship God. I was not free, as David was, to dance before the Ark of the Covenant and to make a fool of myself for the love of God. I prayed, but did not praise. As the problems of life piled up around my head, I was burdened with trying to solve them; I was weighed down, literally. I even wondered where God was at times, or what He wanted me to do. Thanksgiving from the heart was a real struggle for me, even though I could count my blessings. I was spiritually shy and did not want to come across as a fanatic, so I would not speak to others about my faith, such as it was. I would say I would pray for people, but most of the time did not -- I was too wrapped up in my own life. And there was no way I could have said aloud, "Jesus is Lord." That just seemed a bit too much for my retiring nature.
What changed? Two people at different times prayed for me to receive what they were calling "The Baptism of the Holy Spirit." That sounded a bit emotional for my tastes, somewhat bordering on hysteria, but I submitted to prayer the first time, and even requested prayer the second time. Both times, my reaction was anything but hysterical and emotional. In fact, I had never felt so peaceful, so loved, in all my life. And both times of prayer resulted in an outburst of prayer, praise, and thanksgiving to God at some later moment. First came the deepest peace I had ever known; later, a release of some burden that had been holding me back -- and I began to sing to the Lord in a way I had never before known.
With that release of praise, I could feel the weight slipping off my shoulders. I began to know for the first time in my life a new leading, a new teaching from within -- a new Voice speaking to my inner man. And, for the first time in my life, I began to read -- no, devour -- Scripture. I had tried to read Scripture before, but it was just that -- me "trying" to read it. Now, I could not stop reading it; I felt that I was reading the secrets of my own heart. All of this change happened overnight, although over time, all of it also deepened and grew in strength.
Of course, still not understanding the power of the Holy Spirit and not trusting in the reality of my experience, I began to worry that the experience would somehow fade into the background, that I would not be able to maintain this new freedom of worship, of praise, of thanksgiving, of prayer and study. I asked my doctor, the first one who had prayed for me to receive the Spirit. He laughed, "Yes," he said, "I too worried about that. But you don't "have' the Holy Spirit; He "has" you, and He's not letting go, even if you walk away. I receive the Baptism of the Spirit 14 years ago, and it continues to grow stronger and deeper every year." Reassured that it was not up to me to "maintain" the Spirit, I began to relax.
And then, the Spirit brought me into contact with others who were also "free to praise and worship." Together, I found my own experience told again and again, reinforcing its reality for me. I found others who loved the Scriptures and who could hear the voice of the Shepherd: "No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me from the least of them to the greatest," declares the Lord. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts..." (Jer. 31:32-34).
When we came together for praise and worship, we were all able to teach one another what the Lord was teaching each one of us. I had never known such freedom to speak about the spirit; I had never known such freedom to walk with God and to talk with God -- and that freedom expressed itself with other people also.
The prophecy of Isaiah is literally true:
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me,
because the Lord has annointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for the prisoners...
to comfort all who mourn,.....
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of faintness.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.
They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations (61:1-4).
In my experience, it does take a special touch from the Spirit to release our own spirits to praise and worship, to the freedom to say, "Jesus is Lord." Most people before that touch have no desire to say "Jesus is Lord," because He still is not "Lord" for them. With the freedom given by the Holy Spirit, however, we are at last free to kneel with Thomas and say, "My Lord and My God."
Those who worship the Father will worship in Spirit and in Truth.
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