Yielding of the Holy Spirit

Yielding of the Holy Spirit

    We have direct access to heaven anytime and anywhere in Christ, but to use our inheritance, we have to yield to the Holy Spirit. Similarly, God is always speaking and revealing things unto us, His children, but we have to position ourselves to hear Him. That position is to surrender and recognize who He is.

    So, what does it actually mean to yield? Everybody always says it after all, but nobody actually explains it. To truly yield is to surrender. They're synonymous words. Let's break it down a bit more! To truly yield and surrender to the Holy Spirit means that you have done at least three important things: you have acknowledged that He is your superior, you have stopped ignoring His instruction and voice and seek His presence instead (and not any counterfeit spirit), and you now agree and comply with His lead step by step. 

    When you refuse to yield, you are at a disadvantage (to put it lightly). Even just not choosing to make that decision staggers you as Christian. When you yield to the Holy Spirit, that is when He begins to bear His fruits in you (Galatians 5:22-23)! But still, why is it so important for us to surrender to Him anyway?

Do You Want Him to Abide in You? 

    

    Well, first of all, you should understand this: the Holy Spirit is not just a power or a force, but He is a distinct person of God, and He is a gentleman. He will never move or act or come where He is not welcome or asked to come. And He has a mind of His own to think, feel, and act of His own volition, according to the will of God. The Holy Spirit comes and abides in us as long as we are in Christ Jesus and obedience. He is the One who has been sent to help us in these end times. John 1:32 (AMP) records this: 

    "John gave further evidence (testifying officially for the record, with validity and relevance), saying, "I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him." (John 1:32 AMP)

    From this one verse alone, we learn two key important things about the Holy Spirit: He is a spirit Who comes from heaven, not from earth, and when He is asked to come down, He takes His abode within us and dwells upon us. He was placed upon Jesus that He may have power to exercise His authority in the flesh on the earth. To "remain" is to abode, dwell, or continue in a position or state. 

    As long as we are truly in Christ Jesus as His disciples, Holy Spirit will continue to be in us. Along with His companionship, we receive His power to exercise the authority of Jesus Christ (Matthew 18:18-19). It is always key to remember that His power is not our own. We have no power outside of His, and the glory for triumph should always be given unto God because it is His power working through us as vessels that causes the change and brings us victory. 

    To have authority means that you have the ability to influence and induce effective change. It is crucial for us to understand this fact: you need both power and authority to have an actual influence in the natural and spiritual realm. That is the only way to cast demons out and demolish strongholds. Our enemy is not against flesh and blood, whom we may be able to overpower by natural strength. But they are spirits without bodies. 

    We can't even see them without natural eyes. However, just as with the wind, in the natural realm, we know they exist because we feel and see the effects of their attacks and operations, which all manifest in various ways. Even still, that does not change the nature of our warfare: we are in a threefold battle against our flesh and against enemies who are invisible spirits (along with the devil's fleshly ministers). Our battle was never just from one realm or place, but from many. And Jesus knew this very well. That is why we have been given spiritual weapons to combat and defeat all demonic spirits who rise against us. 

    A few of these weapons are prayer, the name of Jesus Christ, which announces under whose authority you are acting and makes demons submit (among many, many other things), the very blood of Jesus Christ, and the power and unquenchable fire of the Holy Spirit. His power is the ultimate packing punch that backs the authority of Jesus with the needed power to force our enemies into submission and to do as we command them. But it's crucial to understand that yielding is what gets you access to this power, in order that you may be trusted with the responsibility of exercising it. For God's glory and purposes and kingdom. Not for our own glory.

Why We Need Him

    The Holy Spirit is from heaven, but who is He? In John 14, we are given key indicators of who He is and what He has been sent to us to do! John 14:16 and 26 records these crucial assignments of the Holy Spirit, among many others:

"And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor, Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) to be with you forever--

the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive and take to its heart because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He remains with you continually and will be in you." (John 14:16-17 AMP)

"But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor, Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name (in my place to represent Me and act on My behalf), He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you. (John 14:26 AMP)

       The Holy Spirit is called many things because those are the very things He has been sent from heaven to do, especially when we ask for Him to remain with us and be in us. 

1. He helps us and teaches us at every moment, gives us the strength to rise and fight against afflictions of the enemy and to take a stand on the word of God.

2.  He counsels us in His truth and wisdom, during regular life occurrences and in spiritual warfare and deliverance in how to engage an enemy or crisis. 

3. He intercedes for us in the courtrooms of heaven by way of His tongues which He enables us to speak. 

4. He convicts us when we are in error and disobedience.

5. He is the One who teaches us and makes the word of God a real living power to cause effectual change and renewal of the mind. 

6. He is the One who even gives us the desire to worship, pray, praise, and give more of ourselves and all that we have to serve the One true Living God, Jehovah! 

7. Unless He continues to revive us and remains us, we would not even have the desire to seek Jesus Christ. 

    He has been sent as our precious, precious and sweet companion until eternity. And always remember that we can do absolutely nothing without Him. This is exactly why He was sent. Jesus did not want to leave us bereaved and sorrowful as helpless orphans (John 14:18 AMP). So, until He returns, He has sent Holy Spirit to act and stand in His place. He is the Holy Spirit of God, who is Jesus Christ.

The Tragedy of Refusing to Yield

    Now that we've covered who Holy Spirit is, what happens then when you've been given the authority and power, and you choose to backslide and disobey? The answer's easy, but very sorrowful. Anytime we position ourselves in disobedience to God, especially when the instruction is clear, God rejects our authority and revokes the authority He set apart specially for our use on the earth. And in some cases, He rejects us and our prayers (Lamentations 3:41-42) until we yield ourselves to Him once again and cry out for mercy with true repentance and sorrow of heart. 

    Saul, the first official king of Israel, had a very serious issue that caused Him not only to be rebuked by God, but ultimately rejected by Him. To be rejected by God means that He has completely exiled you from His presence. He has spit you out and completely disassociated Himself with you. That means His power, His glory, His authority, His peace, His mercy, His protection and covering of your soul and your spirit, upon many other things, has left you. You no longer have a connection with God, who has kept and protected you when you slept and let your guard down, keeping you in ways you know of and ways you don't. 

    In this position, tomorrow is not promised to you, and your spirit and soul are completely naked and exposed. Because your Protector has left you and rejected you, demons and their cohorts have legal rights to attack, oppress, afflict, and wreck not only your life, but also your family and those associated with you. That is what it means to be rejected of God or to reject God and chase the world. 

    It's a very dangerous position to be in as there is no guarantee you'll live long enough or even have the desire in your heart (which also comes from conviction of the Holy Spirit), as in the case of Saul, to have the mind to repent and turn back to God. Remember, in this place, tomorrow isn't promised. Not even the end of the day is promised. 

     Before God completely rejected Him, He simply rebuked Him, but Saul still refused to humble himself and yield to His superior, Jehovah. Even though he never outright rejected God, His actions spoke louder than his words, and they spelled the true intentions of his heart: to rebel and please his flesh and people, not God. Consequently, God immediately deposed Him. And shortly after, the Holy Spirit left Saul and rested upon David instead. 

    Now, Saul, exposed without the covering of the Spirit, was overtaken in his soul (mind) by a demonic spirit that God allowed to torment him daily and terrify him nightly with no peace or rest. The destroyer had permission to harass him because Saul rejected God. (1 Samuel 15-16). When you make the choice to reject and/or disobey Holy Spirit or to go back and stay with the world, that decision is not one to take lightly. There will always be terrible consequences that follow.

The Time Is Now

    It is never too late to surrender to the Holy Ghost and ask Him to fill you and take control. If you ask for Him, He is sure to come, according to God's Word. And when He comes, He will surely help you to do what God has commanded us to do. 

    Things that we couldn't do by our own desire even if we tried: to actually love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and strength. To be changed and rearranged in our mind and heart until we are pleasing to the Lord. To be renewed and healed and delivered from what separates us from loving the Lord with everything that is in us. Holy Ghost helps us to do these things, and He changes and molds us to the very core of our being. To depths of our core where we cannot reach. 

    So, make the decision right now to cry out for Him, wherever you may be. Cry out for Him to change you, shape you, and mold you into a faithful servant. Into someone that is pleasing and sweet smelling to the Lord of Hosts! Cry out to eat the children's bread of deliverance every single day! I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ may come to whoever reads this and receives it. And always go forth, remembering that Jesus loves you.