Psalm 42:1 – “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.”  ESV

Yesterday we looked at the first condition required to receive the fullness of the Spirit of God and have a deeper intimacy with God.  That was – We Must Be Thirsty.  Today I want us to move on to further consideration of the requirements or conditions.

• Condition Number Two – We Must Come to Jesus.

That means a total and complete surrender of our lives to Him and a commitment to do the will of God as He provides the light and understanding of what that will is.  It is Total Surrender to Jesus!

Matthew 11:28-30 – “²⁸ Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

1 John 1:7 – “⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

If we want to have our spiritual thirst quenched or satisfied, we must allow God to have full control of our lives, our wills, our emotions, and our bodies.  He must be LORD of all, and we must be yielded vessels.

• Condition Number Three – We Must Drink.

That means a whole-hearted reception into our lives the gifts, fruits, and operation of the Holy Spirit.  (1 Corinthians 12:4-13).  We read of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians.

Galatians 5:22-23 – “²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴ And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

Revelation 22:17 – “The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”

Unless we are thirsty enough and willing to drink, we will remain thirsty and that fullness will be a theoretical idea, not a practical reality.  We can be full of God!

• Condition Number Four – We Must Believe Jesus and the Bible.

That means to believe and obey in totality the fullness and entirety of the Gospel.  Jesus said in Matthew 28:20 that we are to teach the new converts to become disciples of Him obeying His commandments.  In Mark 16:15-20 He taught that we are to go to the world and proclaim the Good News.  Those that believe and are baptized are saved but those who do not believe are lost.  He then gives a list of protections and manifestations we can expect.  He then promises to be with us, work with us, and confirm His words with signs and wonders.

John 14:15 – “If you love Me, keep My commandments.

In Acts 1 He commanded them that they should not depart Jerusalem until they received the Promise of the Father.  That Promise was the outpouring of the Holy Spirt and Power.  They would then be empowered to take the Good News to their homes and the world.  Then in Acts 5:32, the disciples testified that they were His witnesses.

If we want more of God, we can have more of God.  If we want the energy and power of the Holy Spirit, we can have that energy and power.  The solution is simple not necessarily easy.  We must become thirsty.  We must come to Jesus.  We must drink from the river.  We must Believe and Obey.

The question is, are you thirsty, and then how thirsty are you?  God is waiting to supply and satisfy. 

God bless you as you walk in your new fullness and intimacy with Him!