Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
James 4:7-8
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
There are slight impressions that the Spirit draws us with throughout the day. We do well to take notice of the small promptings of the Spirit. He calls us to come away with Him. It may or may not mean that we need to put ourselves in a physical place or position, but most definitely in a place of spiritual sensitivity in activation of our spirit man. Our spirit is like a candle.
The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD,
Proverbs 20:27
Searching all the inner depths of his heart.
It is created to burn with bright light. So it is important that we make provision to feed that fire, to keep it burning throughout the day. Just as Jesus taught in the parable of the virgins, there were those who tended their lamps with oil and others that did not take responsibility and ran out. The faithful virgins took responsibility to keep the oil level up for their lamps. We also need to constantly be in connection and communion with the Spirit to keep that oil level up. Our spirits need that constant flow of the Holy Spirits oil to keep burning with the light of revelation.
Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
Matt 25:3-4
Our society has been programmed to exalt the big event and to demean small things. But God is into the small and little things. The small consistent times of communion and fellowship with the Spirit keep the flame within us burning.
A key to keep our spirit engaged in connection to the oil reservoirs of heaven is to open the doors of our hearts to the words, songs and melodies of the Spirit. There are words that the Spirit is constantly speaking; it is just a matter of tuning to His frequency. There are melodies from heaven that are constantly flowing. It is just a matter of engaging our spirits to connect to that living flow of life. These are keys to help unlock the banks of oil that are available to our spirit man.
And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Eph 5:18-21
Jesus was anointed with the oil of joy far above His companions. So with the oil is great joy. Where there is great joy, oppression must cease. Where the oppression ceases there is freedom. When oil of God’s anointing comes there is a release that takes place within us that brings forth great joy and higher levels of thanksgiving. One of the great measures of whether the anointing is present or not is the joy level.
And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law. 10 Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our LORD. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
Nehemiah 8:9-12
Religious people have a hard time being happy. They are very hard on others and themselves. In this passage from Nehemiah we see that holiness is intimately connected with God’s joy. When the natural mind hears the law of God it wants to cry and be sad because it does not measure up in its own strength (the flesh). Those controlled by the natural mind become focused on self. But faith turns its eyes to God and speaks as Nehemiah, Ezra and the Levites did. The heart of faith receives the words of God and does not trust in the strength of the flesh to fulfill God’s words but realizes that only God can fulfill these words. Therefore the heart of faith trusts in God’s provision of righteousness and holiness. For apart from Him there is no holiness that we may attain. It is the gift of God’s joy that is our strength. It is the joy of THE LORD, not ours. Being in His Presence produces this joy. I don’t recall anytime coming out of God’s Presence where I’m sad and oppressed. There are sober experiences in the Presence of God, but not where it brings forth sadness and oppresses the spirit. Paul exhorted us to rejoice in the Lord always and again . . . The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. God provides all of these blessings to us. They are not of us.
There really is joy unspeakable and full of glory. There is a place of entrance into that ecstatic joy through a constant communion with the Spirit. It is sensitivity to the slight promptings of the Spirit throughout the day that make the difference in the fire level with us. In the measure we sow, we shall also reap. Sow to the Spirit and reap life!