Refreshment

“I believe that if an angel
were to wing his way from earth up to Heaven,
and were to say that there was one poor, ragged boy,
without father or mother,
with no one to care for him and teach him the way of life;
and if God were to ask who among them were willing to come down
to this earth and live here for fifty years
and lead that one to Jesus Christ,
every angel in Heaven would volunteer to go.
Even Gabriel, who stands in the presence of the Almighty,
would say, "Let me leave my high and lofty position,
and let me have the luxury of leading one soul to Jesus Christ."
There is no greater honor
than to be the instrument in God's hands
of leading one person out of the kingdom of Satan
into the glorious light of Heaven.”
Dwight L. Moody

Refreshment
“Do not be drunk with wine,
which leads to debauchery.
Instead, be filled with the Spirit.”
Ephesians 5:18 NIV

Being filled daily with the Spirit of God is essential to our Christian walk.

It is critical that we flow out of the overflow

of what the Word and the Spirit give us each day.

New manna is needed each morning for the day ahead of us.
The Greek word for “filled” is ‘pleroo’

which means to make replete, to fill and satisfy, to make full,

literally to cram a net full, level up a hollow, to fill a vessel,

to impart richly, to imbue, spread or diffuse through, fill or soak.

We need to repent of our own abilities and thinking, and allow the Lord liberty to fill our cups each morning to the overflow – that our ministry to others is birthed in His presence.

“Therefore repent and return,
so that your sins may be wiped away,
in order that times of refreshing may come
from the presence of the Lord.”
Acts 3:19 NASB

Refreshing (the Greek ‘anapsuxis’) means to “recover ones breath” and the Holy Spirit is the ‘Ruach’ of God. ‘Ruach’ is the Hebrew word for the breath of wind of God.

When God created man, He reached down in the Garden of Eden and scooped up some red earth and He breathed (rauch) upon it. God breathed the very life of the Holy Spirit into us in the Creation. That which was lost in mankind’s fall was restored at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was again breathed upon believers.

If we are to flow in the work of the Kingdom, to bring salvation (Greek ‘sozo’ meaning redemption, deliverance and healing), we can only do so if we are in Christ.

When I was in the Yucatan, Mexico, (Summer 2008)

we ministered for ten long days and nights

that ended every time in the early hours of the next morning.

A few hours of sleep, and we were back at the work of the kingdom.

At the end of the ten days we were all exhausted - but so satisfied.

Each day, I would rely on the indwelling and infilling of the Spirit to carry me.

I would walk into small rural churches saying to the Lord…

“I don’t know how I’m going to do this…

You are going to have to give me strength.”

He showed up every time… the anointing would come,

and I would preach the Word with boldness – my mind was clear,

and I was never tired while I shared the Word.

The Spirit of God would often change what I was to share at the last minute,

or even midstream; and what was shared was always effective –

the people were amazingly receptive and appreciative of the Word.

Each time I shared I had the same feelings

of both amazement, humility and contentment

that came from being in the will of God,

and seeing Him move through me.

“Then he said to me,
This [addition of the bowl to the candlestick,
causing it to yield a ceaseless supply of oil
from the olive trees]
is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying,
Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit
[of Whom the oil is a symbol], says the Lord of hosts.”
Zechariah 4:6 Amplified Bible

The Word was followed every day and night with His fingerprint –

signs and wonders… salvations, deliverances, healings,

times of encouragement and edification!

The building up of the saints and the advancement of his Kingdom;

all to the purpose of bringing honor and glory to Him who is the Glory!

Lord let the refreshing come,

that Your will may be done,

“in earth as it is in heaven.”

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