Most of us will be familiar with Oliver Twist, the hero of Charles Dickens
But do we ever find ourselves asking for more – of God?
I’m sure some of us are familiar with church services when we hear:
“Come, Holy Spirit” – as if He isn’t already here, or
“More of you Lord, more Lord” – or
“More anointing Lord, pour out your blessing”
It’s almost as if there is something that God HAS NOT done
That we are still waiting for Him to do something MORE…
Jesus said, talking about the Holy Spirit:
“It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you”
(John 16:7)
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth has come. He will guide you into all truth”
(John 16:13)
Then on the Day of Pentecost, after Jesus had arisen to sit at the Father’s right hand
The Holy Spirit was poured out on all the people in the Upper Room
And since then, to those who have believed in Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour
He, Jesus, has given the Holy Spirit to those who have asked Him
Through what we understand as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit
The power of God, in us, to do the works of God with power
So, if this is true, and it is
Why do we find ourselves asking for MORE…?
How can we have MORE of God, when we already have ALL of God in us, as believers?
Even Paul said, “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is IN YOU”
(1 Corinthians 6:19)
I believe that part of our problem stems from John the Baptist
Who said, “He must increase, but I must decrease”
(John 3:30)
Talking about Jesus
But we need to remember that John the Baptist was before Jesus died, rose again and ascended into heaven
We need to read the Bible in context
Not just pluck verses out to justify what we believe
I say this because we focus, so often, on the part of “Jesus increasing”
But I beleive our answer to the question of why we keep asking for MORE of God and from God
Is the second part of what John the Baptist said:
We must DECREASE
We HAVE ALL of God that we are going to get
There is NO MORE of Him that we need
(Unless, of course, we need to be baptised in the Holy Spirit
And if that is the case – then ASK)
But what we HAVE too much of – is US
My WAY
My NEEDS
My THOUGHTS on how things should be done
Not that we are NOT surrendered
But occasionally we tend to get back up on the throne, in OUR lives
After all, we are more familiar with this world
Than with the realm of faith that we walk in, with Him
So STOP asking for MORE
And rather look at where we are limiting Him
Where do I feel that I can do it myself?
Where do I feel secure in ME?
These are the areas we NEED to work on and DECREASE in…