The Side Effects Of The Holy Spirit

The Side of Effects of the Holy Spirit

When I was younger there was a TV commercial that had a dramatization of an elderly woman on it who had apparently taken either the wrong medication or even just a bad side effect of a right medication. In either case she presses the button on her life alert bracelet and speaks the words "Help, I think I poisoned myself!". What I once thought was humorous no longer seems quite as funny. You know when your a teenager you don’t realize that if you live long enough you too will be considered old and have to take medication. I think about this commercial a lot now especially since I am getting older and at times I take large amount of medication. When something is wrong with us we go to the doctor because of a problem were having, he gives us a prescription, and we get the prescription filled we get a long list of all the possible side effects of what we are about to put into our body. This is important information but if your like me you may tend to focus on the bad side effects and not the good ones. I have actually seen on a prescription medication for sleep "Warning may cause excitability" and "Warning may cause drowsiness" Both side effects were possible but I always focused on the negative side effects instead of the positive ones. I had to realize that for my own peace of mind I needed to focus on the positive side effects not the negative ones. Well, Jesus Christ is the Master Physician and when we go to him for the sin problem we’re having, a problem by the way if left untreated will eventually end in eternal death. He prescribed for us the Holy Spirit. He fills it immediately after acceptance. We took it into our body. And as with anything that goes into our body we need to know what the side effects will be. He also gave us a list of the possible side effects of the Holy Spirit. The List or Warning Label is found in Galations Chapter 5 verses 16 through 23. It includes 9 possible side effects of the Holy Spirit. And Praise God none of them are bad. Turn with me to Galations Chapter 5 verses 16 through 23.

16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no Law. 1

Let us pray

Today we are going to focus on some of the possible side effects of the Holy Spirit.

The 1st is Love. Love is listed 1st because it is the greatest side effect of the Holy Spirit. When we allow our selves to be led by the Holy Spirit we will express love for God and love for others. These are the Greatest commandments and Paul said earlier in verse 14 that the entire law can be summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself". I do not believe that a person can truly love someone selflessly unless they know Jesus. Even after we come to know him as our Savior we will not truly know how to love until we allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit. When you express your love for the Lord and your fellow man you get a warm fuzzy feeling all over. You get those goose bumps and you never want the feeling to go away. We should be expressing our love for each other often. And we should start right now. Why don’t we take time to turn to those around us and offer them our hand as a token of our brotherly love. We need more of that. Turn the Holy Spirit loose and let your love flow. Blood isn’t the gift that keeps on giving Love is. Your Love for God and for others will be remembered long after your gone. Love is the all-purpose cure. It covers all wrongs. It is worth searching for. It should be expressed openly. Is the law leading your love or are you allowing the Holy Spirit to lead it. If not during the invitation come to the altar and relinquish control.