We surely cannot know all the ways that God is positively motivated by His interactions with His children but unquestionably we can depend on the straight forward information that He has revealed about Himself in His Word.    Consistently God has communicated that His consummate pleasure is induced by His children coming to Him with deep commitments of faith and consistent responses of obedience.   “Trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey.”      These three responses to God, coming, trusting, and obeying have their genesis in a genuine love for God.   They also represent the ultimate win, win condition; for God is glorified while we are filled with indescribable joy!

Unfortunately bringing great glory to God does not seem to be the normal every day experience for most believers in our land.  What is preventing us from daily coming to God in faith and obedience in response to His amazing love?   Why do most of us live as if only our pleasure and our glory holds any real significance for our lives?

1 Peter 1:8 (AMP)
⁸ Without having seen Him, you love Him; though you do not [even] now see Him, you believe in Him and exult and thrill with inexpressible and glorious (triumphant, heavenly) joy.

There are surely many potential answers to the question above.    Let’s focus on the provisions of God and the extent of the utilization of these resources by believers.    God has provided to believers His living Word.  He has provided the indwelling of His living Holy Spirit.   He has provided through Jesus Christ the opportunity to come directly to His throne of grace through prayer.    With very little contemplation we must quickly come to the conclusion that God has provided entirely adequate resources to enable us to consistently walk in obedience and joy in unbounded fellowship with our God and King.

In the interest of time we will attempt to consider the utilization of the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of an average believer.    But first let’s imagine for a moment that every born again believer in North America would be, starting tomorrow, filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit continually without fail.   For the purpose of discussion let’s consider together the likely results of this condition.    Continual walking in the Spirit would no doubt cause all Christian marriages to succeed.    In fact every Christian marriage would be so positive as to provide for significant impact on every non-Christian marriage and family with whom they come into contact.   Such is the amazing prevailing power of the Holy Spirit.

How would the consistent control of the Holy Spirit change the actions and attitudes of Christians who were previously involved in pornography, or abortion, cohabitation, or greed or other sorts of self-seeking behavior?    What would be the impact of a body of pure, holy, consistently Spirit filled believers upon our schools, our churches, or even entire communities?

Galatians 5:16 (NASB95)
¹⁶ But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

It seems that God’s plan from the beginning was to bless the people who were called by His name and through them bring a powerful and saving testimony to the people who do not know Him.    Is God’s plan significantly different today?    The righteousness and the power of God is generally what sets apart those people who are in a loving, trusting, obedient relationship with God.   God’s plan is that those who were called and intimately related to Him would be drastically different from those who are unsaved and that the distinctions would be evident even to a casual observer.

Ezekiel 39:7 (AMP)
⁷ And I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name any more; and the nations shall know, understand, and realize that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.

Galatians 5:16 above explains the one primary difference that will cause the faithful children of God to be observably distinct in this world; they will not carry out the desires of the flesh.

As faithful obedient children we are not to bring attention to ourselves but rather to God who is our hope and power and entire provision.    The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is an essential provision for our ability to live lives that bring honor and glory to God and afford an attractive testimony to the world of unsaved mankind.

2 Corinthians 4:7 (NASB95)
⁷ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;

Could it be in our day that our impotence as believers and the inherent weakness of His church is primarily caused by our lack of consistently depending upon the power and leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives?

It is evident that God has given us ample provision to live as He has called.   It is also apparent that God has given us choice.   What will we choose?   Will we choose to submit exclusively to the power and control of the Spirit, or will we choose to consent to freedom for the flesh?   Will we choose to pray or fret?   Or will we choose to pray in the Spirit or in the flesh?   Will we choose to above all love God or will we choose to fondle the fictitious fondness for self.  

Jude 1:20-21 (NASB95)
²⁰ But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.

Even in our choices we have the power of the Spirit to aid us if we simply ask and seek His assistance.  The Spirit is waiting and yearning for you and for me to invite His supporting power.   He desires to control our eyes, and our thoughts, to glorify Jesus!    He anxiously waits to strengthen our resolve to pray without ceasing.     He is willing to set a guard over our hearts and mouths.   In short the Holy Spirit wants to transform us into powerful witnesses for Jesus Christ, impacting every area of our lives for God’s glory.

Oh that we would choose daily to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God.    Pray that He will bring to each of us every day of our lives the power and perseverance and patience and proper perspectives in order that we might be in reality His witnesses, His ambassadors, His heralds of the truth through our words and our lives and our prayers!    Revival starts in us when we strive to be filled and controlled by His Spirit every waking moment of every day.     Let’s humble ourselves and pray and seek God’s face and repent from our sins and sincerely seek the fullness of the power of the Spirit of God that He may be greatly glorified and His Name magnified through our lives.