Jim Cymbala, pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle and author of the bestseller, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, made this valid comment: “When it comes to the Holy Spirit, churches are either comatose or insane asylums.”
The ‘insane asylum’ analogy comes from observing people from one side of the Christian room running around hollering and hooting because they believe the Holy Spirit has come upon them. Or people falling onto the floor in convulsive shaking and inane utterances because the Holy Spirit has come upon them as well.
Then someone stands up to declare the Holy Spirit has given him a vision of 5,000 tanks surrounding the American border with all guns pointing towards the interior of this great country. How did he arrive at 5,000? Why America? Are they toy tanks or real tanks?
The people on the other side of the Christian room stare with eyes as wide as two hot air balloons. They’re thinking, “No way I’m going to let the Holy Spirit come upon me!” They sprint out of the room like spooked gazelles, searching for holy water to wash out their eyes. If they can’t find holy water, a tall spritzer will do. Anything to erase the sight from their eyes.
It creates a problem doesn’t it? The problem worsens because the outside world sees the one side as out-of-their-head wackos and the other side as lame practitioners of a sterilized faith developed over 2,000 years ago. In other words, comatose. The outside world wonders how they can both be on the same team.
God’s Word gives a clear directive in 1 Thessalonians 5:19: “Do not quench the Spirit.”
God fully intends His Spirit to be a dominant factor in every Believer’s life. He is to be as forceful as mothers getting kids ready to go to Sunday School: “Johnny, get your toothbrush out of your sister’s hair!”
The Holy Spirit desires to develop an incredible work within us, which is described in Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
Aren’t the spiritual gifts just as important? After all, listen to Romans 12:6-8: “Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to each of us,each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”
Two commands—one regarding the spiritual gifts, one regarding the spiritual fruit. Equally vital in the exercise of our lives as Believers. But one is foundational upon which the other becomes functional. Foundation begets function.
Would someone without love be as an effective teacher as a teacher who is thoroughly immersed in the Holy Spirit’s Grade-A love?
Another quality of the Holy Spirit’s fruit is patience. Would a student rather sit with a teacher who is patient or one who has no patience at all?
Can we imagine the utter excellence of our children sitting with a teacher who is soaked in the Holy Spirit’s versions of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control? What a teacher that would be! It’s because foundation led to function.
This fits well with Jesus’ promise of restfulness through His ‘easy yoke and light burdens.’ When we allow the Holy Spirit to grow His fruit with these nine qualities into our lives, imagine what that does for our outlook on life, the way it affects how we deal with all the issues life slams into our path.
Galatians 5:23 provides an incredible possibility: “…against such things there is no law.” If a person lives completely in the power of the Holy Spirit’s fruit, there would be no need for law to exist in that person’s life. Expand that out to a family. Then to a community. Lastly, to a world. In a world in which everyone lived in the power of His fruit, no law would need to exist. Wouldn’t that create a life of the ‘easy yoke and light burdens’ for everyone?