Rhythms for Revival: Receive

Remain + Receive.

A rhythm of day by day faithfulness.

Remain in Jesus. Receive His Holy Spirit.

When we remain in Jesus, He will remain in us.

His love will revive us.

His strength will sustain us.

His truth will fortify us against attacks from the enemy.

His Spirit will gently guide and convict us.

When we choose to abide, He will revive (read full article “Remain”).

This is such a good reminder as we enter the (busy) holiday season. 

Jesus says in John 15:4,

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

Will we choose to abide in Him first and only with our time, thoughts, and money this Christmas? 

Or will we give into the craziness and absurdity of the traditional American “Christian” Christmas?

This year let us make the choice to do Christmas differently. Embrace margin and rest in all areas - time, finances, gift-giving, food. Prioritize what really matters. Remain in Him. Because Jesus has given us a gift - the most precious gift of all. 

Jesus goes on to say later in John 15-16, “I will send you the Advocate, the Spirit of truth.” He says that it is good that He goes away because He is sending the world something better than Himself…

The Holy Spirit. 

Our Helper. 

Our Comforter, Advocate, Spirit of Truth.

He leads and guides and strengthens and sustains us day by day. 

If we allow Him in….

If we invite and engage His work within us. This gift needs to be received, opened, used.

The Holy Spirit is given to us as a gift when we choose to have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Yet how many of us have received and actually opened that gift? Or perhaps we opened it long ago but now that gift sits covered with dust, long forgotten on a shelf in the back of the closet? I don’t believe this is a “one and done” request - I have learned that it can be a daily request.

I grew up in the church and knew about our Triune God but the Holy Spirit was not talked about much. In many churches, we find that the Holy Spirit is overlooked, misunderstood, or quite honestly completely misrepresented.

It wasn’t until about 6 years ago that I heard a sermon on the Holy Spirit that changed my life. 

My pastor reminded us that the Holy Spirit is a Someone, not a something,

and he reminded us that the Holy Spirit EMpowers us - He will never OVERpower us.

My pastor then invited us to pray and ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit. To receive Him and invite His work in our lives.

And that simple request changed my life.

When I asked the Holy Spirit to fill me, it changed my life. He brings verses to mind, songs to my lips, conviction in areas of my life that need healing and redirection, and brings wise words to mind when I need them when teaching + training my kids or encouraging a friend. His quiet, steady presence within my life has become essential to my revival. 

And though His presence never leaves us, we tend to stuff, suppress, or simply forget this gift that we have within.

Paul even says in 1 Thessalonians 5:19, “Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.” 

This means it is absolutely possible for us to simply quench the Holy Spirit in our daily lives. Instead, we should be receiving this gift, opening it, and enjoying it - asking for Him to fill us, use us, work within us and through us, to guide us each day. 

When was the last time you asked the Holy Spirit to fill you again?

This is a gift that can also be shared with our families and friends - what if we gave the gift of the Holy Spirit this Christmas?

The Holy Spirit fills us with His peace, power, and presence. He is the only One that can produce fruit within our lives - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. We cannot force this fruit. We cannot wish, hope, or strive to produce this type of fruit on our own. It simply comes from the daily rhythm of being with Him - remaining in Jesus, receiving His Holy Spirit. Remain + Receive.

Paul writes in Galatians 5:16-17, “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.”

We are approaching the season of good intentions - the New Year is right around the corner. How many resolutions have you made in previous years after the guilt hits from you the holidays? Do you feel like you are living in freedom or are you living in bondage to your sinful nature - your cravings and desires?

Paul goes on in Galatians 5:19-21 to lay out what bondage looks like…

“When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these…”

How do your holidays usually look? I can humbly be the first to admit that my holidays involve many of those sins listed. Idolatry, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger…yikes. I’m living in bondage to my sinful nature rather than walking by the Spirit.

But what if this year truly could look different?

Because when we RECEIVE the gift of the Holy Spirit, our Helper, He will guide us through temptation, help us resist the enemy, die to our selfish nature, and live in the freedom that Christ offers.

Paul finishes in Galatians 5:22-25,

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”

Surrender, submit, yield to Jesus (Release).

Come back to God and find your identity deeply rooted within His presence and promises (Remember).

Then spend time with Jesus (Remain) and ask His Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and fill you (Receive).

These rhythms of revival will breathe life back into your mind, body, & soul and produce fruit - real, lasting fruit - within your life.

Will you consider the magnitude of the gift that Jesus offers us this Christmas season and receive it today?