Devotion - Friday May 29 - Jesus Promises God's Presence

Text: On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. - John 7:37-39

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. - Galatians 5:22-23

Devotion: In John 7:37-39 Jesus describes how a believer will have rivers of living waters flowing out of his or her heart.  If a body of water is still, it grows stagnant.  Mosquitos and disease multiply.  God designed a dynamic relationship to take place between Him and His people. He never intended for us to be on our own and grow stagnant.  He desires that His Spirit live in and through us.  The Spirit is the pump that allows the Living Water to flow through a Christian’s life. Spiritual power does not come from personal effort or knowledge.  The power comes from the Holy Spirit that each believer is indwelled with at the moment of salvation (Eph 1:13).  
What does it look like when the Living Water is flowing through a life? Galatians 5:22-23 describes nine characteristics that are evidence of the Holy Spirit working in a believer.  There are things that can block the Holy Spirit’s spiritual pump:  unrepentant sin (1 John 1:8-9), disregard for God’s teaching (1 Thess. 5:19-20), angry words and rebellion (Eph. 4:29-31), testing the Spirit (Acts 5:9), or rejecting God’s correction (Acts 7:51).

Questions:

• When did the Holy Spirit come to dwell within believers? Who sent Him?
• How are the fruits of the Spirit produced in our lives?
• Consider the nine fruits of the Spirit. Which of the fruits are evident in your life? Which do you not see as evident in your life?  Let this evaluation be a redirection to depend on God the Spirit. 
• Is there something in your life that is blocking the Holy Spirit from pumping life through you? Pray for God to reveal what might be a spiritual blockage, confess sin, and get into accountability with a godly friend. 
• The lack of these fruits are not a challenge to try harder but to surrender.  Take thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ. Don’t let the lies of the enemy and flesh condemn you but rest in the Gospel and truth of God. (Listen to Pastor Ryan’s sermon from May 24th!)