"And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the Heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove." Mark 1:10. NKJV
If you know anything about birds, you will know that if you get too close to them, they'll fly away. Many times, I have been left frustrated when the 'Perfect shot,' I was going to take - that award winning photograph, has flown away probably never to happen again. We need to be very careful that we don't disturb them or else, all is lost.
It is similar with our walk with Jesus. Here, we see the dove - the Holy Spirit, descending upon Jesus as He comes up from the baptismal waters. Note how important this was. God parted the Heavens, in other words, He tore open the Heavens; such was the necessity of the Holy Spirit to come upon Jesus.
And it is the same for us. When the Holy Spirit descends upon us, power - the dynamite of Heaven comes with it. Without it, we can do very little. Yet the Holy Spirit is as gentle as a dove and very sensitive. When we receive Jesus as our Lord, the Holy Spirit takes up residence within us. He is totally for us. When we're baptised in the Holy Spirit, He rests upon us so that we can perform all that He wishes for us to do. Note the difference, as it is very important. With the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we have access to the gifts including, speaking in tongues, and we have the power to perform what Jesus wishes for us to do (Acts 1:8). Now, God has said that, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' (Hebrews 13:5), and that is certain because He dwells within us at all times. However, when we're walking in power to perform His ministry, the Holy Spirit rests upon us for the times that we are ministering to people. Rather like we can easily disturb the dove by rushing up to it, we can also disturb the Holy Spirit if our life or attitude is not right. Our sin and attitude disturbs Him and it's like He flies away leaving us unable to perform our ministry. He has not left us, but that power that brings the manifestation has.
I remember Benny Hinn saying something similar a few years ago. He was conducting one of his conventions but nothing was really happening. He inwardly asked God what was wrong and God told him that he needed to repent over some matter. He did, right there and then. From that moment, the service was like electricity - full of power.
We need always to be careful how we walk. Galatians 5:17 says, 'Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh'. If you feel little is happening in your walk with God, check yourself over and see if there is anything blocking the power of the Spirit. If there is, repent and receive.
Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard
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