The Wind of the Spirit- Part II

"Only the Eagle knows the way the wind is blowing!" Pastor Benny Hinn passionately admonished his new music minister. Moments prior to his rebuke, the young man had decided to alter the music in the midst of the move of the Holy Spirit. Under the anointing, the somewhat reserved man of God is a fiery instrument of the Lord's power. When he gave that rebuff, it had been momentarily uncomfortable for all, but as the Spirit acknowledged the validity of the correction, it became a valid learning experience for us. It is for God to choose and appoint a specific timing and vessel for His anointing to flow through. In the midst of the presence of the Holy Ghost at work in many different meetings, we experienced the wind of the Spirit in multiple capacities. But I can personally attest that for the appointed times of our leadership in the ministering of the Gifts, it is a weighty responsibility to properly obey the prompting of the Comforter. It cannot be manufactured, manipulated or put into a formulaic equation. The Wind or Breath of the Spirit is as the natural wind itself. One cannot instruct the Wind to blow westerly or southerly, but rather must allow the rudder and the marriage of wind and sail to propel his vessel. However, with reference to this point, it is only for the Captain to steer his ship, not the boatswain.

Obedience is key to flowing with Him. It may be intellectually uncomfortable or pragmatically odd to be moved to and fro in the midst of the current, yet, when we allow our intellects or flesh to dictate the atmosphere of the anointing, it dissipates. Church bodies and gatherings where the Spirit is not flowing are almost inevitably lacking in the atmosphere of faith and therefore, allowance of the flow itself. Although we may be certain that God will move, that does not mean He is WILLING to move in the particular way we are desiring. Our ways are not His, and His thoughts and motives are higher than ours. It is not for us to place boundaries or theorems on Him. There is an entirely different teaching buried here, dealing with distinguishing God's LAW from man's FORMULAS, but let us uncover that treasure at another time. Just as Wind does not respond to the calendars, clocks or impatience of man, so neither will the Spirit of God be bound to our defined borders. A service where there is a time-limit for reasons of popularity rarely sees the type and degree of power that is wrought from open hearts and schedules. Please, understand that I do not attest universal truth to the idea that if a service is 6 hours as opposed to 1 it will rend more anointing. That is not necessarily the case. Some of the shorter services we have ministered in have seen greater moves than some of the marathon services we have experienced. Some of the longer services where the intent is to "tarry" can also lead to a fruitless time of, well, "tarrying" when the waiting is without faith, expectation or anointing. Waiting on the Lord in not passive. When our faith is stirred and the agreement of all is a level above the natural, then the supernatural comes to our revelation. God is always working, and our reception or acknowledgement of His work is dependent more on our openness to bear witness in SPIRIT AND TRUTH, rather than our "show me Lord" spectatorship. It takes a genuine HUNGER for His presence and a thirst for His Spirit to be truly obedient. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."-(Matthew 5:6) When we thirst for Him in obedience, spirit and truth, we witness and receive His POWER.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."-(Acts 1:8) We are given the POWER of the gifts of the Spirit, as well as the evidence of the FRUIT of the Spirit, for the express main purpose of being Christ's witnesses to and throughout the ends of the Earth. We are given wisdom and providentially provided with exactly what to say in the operation of testifying to the Gospel when we flow with the Spirit. When Stephen was seized by Jewish authorities, they witnessed that power firsthand. "These men began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke"-(Acts 6:9-10) Even before Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, and before the Great Commission, the Spirit of the Living God bore witness to Himself and His Power in multiple instances through this same medium of potency. And when Moses fearfully complained of his lack of eloquence and his speech impediment... "The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD ? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."-(Exodus 4:11-12) God imparts different gifts for specific needs and missions in the process of building His Kingdom through the working power of the Holy Spirit. "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men."-(1 Corinthians 12:4-6)

"The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life."-(Job 33:8) "The Spirit of God" or "Ruach Elohim" is transliterated from Hebrew as "Breath or Wind of God". The Breath of Life itself, comes from and IS the Holy Spirit. The WIND of the Spirit, IS the Spirit, the Holy Spirit of the Living Lord. How marvelous. How truly magnificent. The Person of the Holy Ghost is God's very breath, He is GOD. When we experience the Wind of the Spirit, the breath of God, WE EXPERIENCE GOD. We cannot, in our mortal bodies experience the Father, the Godhead directly. We would disintegrate in His presence. But our Spirit-Man is blessed to commune and receive from the awesome, loving presence of HIS SPIRIT. We are blessed to be given CREATION- the Spirit of the Lord is the likeness in which we were created , "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness."-(Genesis 1:26) We are blessed to be given REVELATION- God reveals Himself and His Plans through the prompting of the Holy Ghost. We are blessed to be given REDEMPTION- The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin, then the Holy Spirit leads us to the repentance of our sins. We are blessed to be given the INDWELLING- We are Born Again by His Spirit, and become vessels for His inhabitation. "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? "-(1 Corinthians 3:16) We are blessed to be TRANSFORMED- "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."-(2 Corinthians 3:18) We are blessed to be FILLED, to be given OVERCOMING POWER and thereby testify to His GLORY. The Ruach Ha-Kodesh or "Breath or WIND of the Holy One" is the most amazing, active and POWERFUL GIFT we as believers receive from God following the vicarious atonement that we have been given through the Savior's sacrifice and blood.

The Wind of the Holy Spirit is blowing. In it is the very power of God made manifest here and now on Earth in the land of the living. Miracles did not cease with the death of the Apostles. On the contrary, through the currency and power of the Holy Ghost, the greatest miracles are still yet to come. "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."-(John 14:12) If you have never experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit, evidenced by speaking in other tongues, you have not yet experienced the Spirit-Filled Life. Jesus came so that we would have Life and have it more abundantly. If you seek to have this "abundant life", you must receive the miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit. Ask God to direct you to a strong and pure Spirit-Filled Church and speak with one of the servants of Christ there about receiving the Comforter yourself. I promise you- your life will be forever changed and altered to the most incredible level of faith and growth when you do this. If you are already a blood-bought, Spirit-Filled Believer, then let us join in absolute and total agreement together right now, that God is still doing great things! Where there is agreement and the atmosphere of Faith, the Wind of the Spirit is FLOWING- And then let us all proclaim as Kathryn Kuhlman so often declared- "I believe in MIRACLES, because I believe in GOD."