Wednesday 2 November 2011

What it Means to Let the Spirit Move

Singing about the Holy Spirit, and letting the Holy Spirit move, are not necessarily the same thing - sometimes they are two different things. Sometimes the Holy Spirit wants to move - but instead of letting Him move, we keep singing about letting Him move. We can sing a song, "Welcome Holy Spirit". But singing that He is welcome does not mean we are welcoming Him.

A meeting leader can say, "You are welcome in this place, Holy Spirit." But saying that He is welcome does not mean He is welcome.

Welcoming Him means to deliberately give Him time in the service to do what He wants.

Sometimes that involves stopping what we're already doing - because sometimes two things can't happen as well together.

It's hard to sing or talk, and drink a glass of water at the same time! Similarly, singing can get in the way of receiving from the Holy Spirit.

Praying and interceding can get in the way too. If we want to pray but the Holy Spirit wants to do something else in the meeting, then our praying can be a hindrance. Speaking in tongues, doing warfare, dancing, giving announcements or news, and preaching can all get in the way of what the Holy Spirit wants to do. Sometimes those things are exactly what the Holy Spirit wants us to do - but at other times He wants to do something different.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit will interrupt what we are doing and do what He wants anyway. When He does, we can be aware of it and can flow with Him rather than carry on with what we were doing and obstruct Him.

At other times, the Holy Spirit will wait for us to let Him move. Letting the Holy Spirit move is something we can do on purpose. When we make room for the Holy Spirit to do what He wants to do in our meetings, on purpose - it shows we are practically welcoming Him. When we deliberately give Him time to move, it shows we have a desire and are acting our faith that He will move. Then He will move.

So we can help or hinder the move of the Spirit in our meetings.

Sense what He wants to do at any given point in the meeting, and when you sense it, flow with it 100%. Encourage the congregation to flow with it. If the musicians keep playing, make sure they are helping the congregation to flow with Him. If the congregation is meant to be receiving from the Spirit or manifesting the Spirit in other ways, then if the band is encouraging the congregation to sing instead, it can be a hindrance.

That's the reason we sometimes see a greater manifestation of the Spirit when the music stops. It shows the music wasn't functioning as a 'ministry of helps'. It was dominating the proceedings of the meeting, rather than assisting the will of the Spirit.

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