The Holy Spirit is a Gift, not a Goal!

From Reinhard Bonnke today:

Living in the Spirit does not mean a life of labour and perfectionism, inventing ways of self-denial to gain credit with God. Self-denial may be necessary in our service for God, but sacrifice for the sake of sacrifice is not a means of grace. That has been the error of all ascetics. Neither are we supposed to suggest that we have to struggle to be people of the Spirit, worrying about it daily. Perhaps we want to be known as a man of prayer or a woman of the Spirit. That is Pharisaic. Christ said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt 11:30). He would know, for as a carpenter he once made yokes. His yokes did not chafe oxen, nor do they chafe us. And most people can cope with that.

It is absurd to be anxiously watching every moment exhausting ourselves trying to be Spirit-filled. The promise is that “the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh 8:10). Living in the Spirit we walk with God with a confident bearing, live more easily, and pray more easily. “Keep in step with the Spirit” is the advice found in Galatians 5:25. Remember, the Holy Spirit is a gift, not a goal.