Why Holy Spirit is Not Optional - by Pastor Brent Lokker

Being a follower of Jesus was never meant as an extra bullet point on your life job description or as any kind of an “add-on” to your own life. When you said yes to Jesus as the One Savior who died for you on the cross to end the tyrannical reign of sin and supernaturally transport you into His Father’s Kingdom of grace and freedom, you died to your own life. Now the only life you have is one with Jesus and co-seated with Him in the heavenly places(Ephesians 2:6). Everything about our new grace-life with Jesus is supernatural, meaning we don’t work it up or make it happen through the self-efforts of our soul, but instead we are filled with God’s Spirit and we make a choice to yield to the One who journeys with  us into the truest version of ourselves that looks more and more like Jesus. Intimacy with and yielding to Holy Spirit can lead to many outcomes:   A greater depth of intimacy and passion for God Power to pray for the sick and see them healed A creative idea or brilliant solution at work A desire to forgive another and work out your differences Unusual inner peace even when circumstances are crazy around you Seeing or feeling angels in God’s heavenly Kingdom realm Feeling great compassion for another person Acts of generosity and kindness Having great wisdom in a particular situation Sharing a word of prophecy that relays the true heart of God with someone to encourage them The desire to share the Good News of Jesus with others These are all equally supernatural because the Kingdom of God can only be lived out in the supernatural realm. This is what we call the Spirit-filled life. This is why Jesus told his followers not to go share about him with others until they were baptized with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:4-5) And then, Pentecost happened! When I say happened, I mean they had a dramatic, completely life-altering encounter with the Spirit of the Living God!  (Acts 2:1-4) And now, over 2000 years later, we are still having powerful encounters with Holy Spirit that are dramatic and life-altering. You can hear my message from last Saturday, The Promised Gift, here: The Promised Gift Asking if we need Holy Spirit in our lives is like asking if we need to breath air in order to live. Jesus said Holy Spirit was vital to our existence, our abundance, our freedom, our wholehearted living and our happiness. I encourage you to talk with Holy Spirit in your own way right now. Just express your love and how it’s your choice and desire to yield your life to Holy Spirit’s sweet and powerful influence.