The Baptism of the Holy Spirit: Emotions and the Will Kathryn Kuhlman

These are such exciting days for God's children. These are the days that the scripture refers to when the word says, when you see these things begin to come to pass, look up and rejoice, be glad. Make the most of the hours, the moments, because your redemption draweth nigh. Thrilling days for the church. This is the hour when again the fruits and the gifts of the Spirit are all being restored to the church. It's a great hour of restoration so far as the things of the Spirit are concerned. I know it's getting dark out there for the unbeliever. It's getting so dark. It's getting darker with every passing hour, but oh, our future is so bright. So glorious. Our redemption draweth nigh. And remember, our redemption will not be perfected as Christians. as heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ Jesus until we see Him face to face. This is the hour when literally thousands are being filled with the Holy Spirit, that wonderful experience that we call the baptism with the Holy Spirit. And because so many are being baptized with the Spirit, there are many who feel that the Holy Spirit is a new personality. just recently having come upon the scene. Oh, no, beloved. He was present when Jesus offered himself through the Holy Spirit to be given to God the Father, that the Father might give his only begotten Son, that you and I might receive life everlasting through the shed blood of the only begotten Son. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not some new experience, even as the Holy Spirit is not a new personality just recently having come upon the scene. But I want to talk to you about something that is vitally important in relationship to the baptism of the Holy Spirit and its significance for our wills. This is something that I feel needs to be taught. It's overlooked. And we need more teaching when it comes to this experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit. It is vitally important that we realize that our wills, your will, my will, are wills which can be separate and apart from the will of God. and how it relates to this wonderful experience and to the person of the Holy Spirit and to God himself. There's a scripture found in the 10th chapter of Hebrews, the 16th verse. This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord. I will put my laws into their hearts. And in their minds, will I write to them? Now, because the baptism of the Spirit affects our emotional life, we must not forget that the most important part of this experience affects that which is not always visible, and that's our wills. We must be very careful that We do not misinterpret or accept some great emotional experience for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes I think that we're so human that we get carried away in our ecstasy. We get carried away with some great emotional experience and label it as the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I repeat, be Because the baptism of the Holy Spirit affects our emotional life, and it does, we must not forget that the most important part of this wonderful experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit affects that which is not always visible, and that is our wills. The root is the most important part. of the tree. No man will take issue with that statement. The root is the most important part of any tree. And the most important part of our spiritual lives is that which cannot be seen with the eyes of men. The most important part of my life is my will. The most important part of you is your will. And when it comes to your spiritual experience, when it comes to your relationship to God, to Jesus Christ, to the Holy Spirit, is still your will. And that's one thing that we'd like to talk about and discuss the least. Our wills. All... We enjoy the emotional part of it. We enjoy the ecstasy of it all. But when it comes to the place where we can honestly say, nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. We've come to the place. You know, reading the Word, carefully noting its translation to practical living, we must arrive at the conclusion that the most important part of all points in this experience is that the Holy Spirit gets full control of that will. We'd like to talk about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And there are thousands who profess to the experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit. And yet they know absolutely nothing in that experience of having the Holy Spirit get full control of their will. It's not what happens at that moment. It's not what happens to that one in 15 minutes or 30 minutes. It's what? happens following that experience. If the Holy Spirit has not gotten full control of your will, if this be not the case, the experience will be shallow and passing. And it is possible for those who are not deeply spiritual to be so gripped by a powerful spiritual meeting that they're drawn into the movement of enthusiasm without having their very nature changed. When God revealed himself at Mizpah in the days of Saul, some of the men following after Saul, in their quest... to capture David were gripped by the same spirit of ecstasy that swayed the prophets. It's possible to be in attendance at a powerful spiritual prayer meeting, receive a wonderful experience, so much that one might almost be beside himself, but still miss the deep and abiding blessing. And this abiding blessing comes only as the Spirit is permitted to go to the depth of our very being and change the very roots of our lives. Our mind and will must be under the absolute control of the Spirit if the blessing, if the experience is to abide. I'm talking about something that's very practical. I'm giving you a teaching that's needed today. I'm not talking about just something that was a great emotional experience. I'm talking about an experience that got hold of your mind, that changed your mind. I'm talking about a spiritual experience. When you literally surrender not only your mind, but your will to the will of God. Something that was not just temporary, but something that will be with you when the waters are deep and about to overflow and the night is so... Doc, there isn't a star in your sky. Troubles come and tribulations come and testing times come and you're still there. And you can still look up even through blinding tears. You can still look up even when you do not understand and say, nevertheless, not my will but thine be done. The real foundation to our mind and its makeup is the wheel. And my experience would have had me to understand it so. After all these years of having been in the ministry, I have observed that it is of utmost importance that our wheels be under the control of the spirit. And then and then only do we become partakers of this wonderful salvation provided for in Christ Jesus. You may boast of having been filled with the Spirit. You may boast of having received the baptism with the Holy Spirit. But let me ask you something. Holy Spirit, if it is not, then I would not give you much for whatever experience that you had. It was only something that was temporary. If God be given our wills to rule, then he will have our entire life under his control. Now, there are many engaged in spiritual work. Who do not understand what I'm talking about. There are many who professing to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Who do not understand what I am saying. And they have erred on this point. They never arrive at the right destination. Simply because they do not understand this. They seem to have accepted. The fact that they had some great emotional. and because there was great ecstasy that that was it. Remember. Sure. It is necessary that the realm of feelings be stirred and enthused. But we must... come to the place in our experience where we become independent of emotions. We must become independent of our feelings if we're to enjoy the deeper things, if we're to be used of the Holy Spirit. Such deep blessings will come only if God is given control of the will. Then our lives will be in fellowship with him no matter where we are. And it will be a life in continual harmony with his. Oh, that glorious place. Do you know what I'm talking about? That wonderful place in him where our life is in continual. harmony with God. And you awake in the morning and you say, now, what would you have me to do today? When you face the difficulty and you look up and say, what is your will in the matter? It's a constant abiding in Him. It's glorious. Then we're weaned away from the sad experience of one moment being caught up in feelings of ecstasy and emotion, and the next in the lowlands of gloom and despair. Up one day, down the next, being controlled by the weather. by the feelings, personal feelings, by circumstances. You know, when the Holy Spirit comes upon an individual, it's a tremendous experience. Then God conquers the will, and He becomes the supreme power in the life. Everything, absolutely everything, is dependent on this. The whole life for all time is affected by this experience. From this time on, he no longer has the final word in life, but this always comes from him, the one who controls our life. This is marvelous. Scripture calls this crucifixion. The will of man is set aside and gives place to the will of God. This act is as if an inventory of life were taken and all its possessions turned over to God, turned completely over to the Holy Spirit. I had an experience the other day. You know, there's a scripture, the words of Jesus, that has always meant so much to me. He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. I had preached many sermons on the first part. He that loseth his life for my sake. but I'd never put any emphasis on the last spot. I remember well the end of McChesney Road in Portland, Oregon, at that time's the Dead End Street, four o 'clock one Saturday afternoon, when literally I felt I had lost my life to him, because that was the hour. was the day years ago when I literally for all time surrendered my will to his will. Very recently in the Civic Auditorium in Portland, Oregon, the same city where I lost my will to his will. I lost my will to him. When I stood recently on that stage and saw a man who'd been in wheelchair for nine years with multiple sclerosis, stand to his feet, saw the healing power of the Lord Jesus Christ flowing to his body. Those who witnessed that great miracle never dreamed what the Spirit was saying to me. You lost your life for my sake, but you found it in me. Beloved, I have found my life, for I lost my will to his will.