Abounding
Romans 14:17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
The Kingdom of God is three things! The three things affect us directly. We are forever changed by the righteousness we received as a gift when we believed. Jesus gave us His peace, not peace like the world understands peace, but His very own peace. We possess joy in the Holy Spirit.
Now if that were not enough, Paul also prayed the following.
Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Fill you with all joy and peace! Fill you! Fill you! Why?
So that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is your destiny to abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Your abounding in hope can only be realized by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is through the working of the Holy Spirit that hope is awakened within the heart and soul because, in the working of the Spirit, God is made even more real to us, even though we cannot see Him with our natural eyes.
Every time I have experienced the tangible power of the Spirit, it has produced in me great hope and even stronger expectation with regard to the promises of God based on who He is and what He has spoken.
This is why Holy Spirit encounters make such a profound difference in the lives of believers.
Holy Spirit encounters produce in us the realization of the righteousness, peace, and joy that is meant to be experienced by us as part of the salvation promise in Christ. It is what brings the manifestation of the kingdom forward in our experience.
I’ve never met a freshly filled by the Spirit believer who wasn’t joyful, at peace, and confident in their relationship with God. That is true even when their circumstances are unfavorable at the moment.
1Peter 1:8 (Jesus) whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
Those convinced by the Spirit have this reality working in them. Are you empowered to rejoice in the unseen? It is the work of the Holy Spirit to seal, confirm and empower believers with kingdom reality.
I encourage you today to ask the Holy Spirit to manifest the reality of the kingdom in you. I encourage you to be bold and, by faith, ask Him to fill you afresh and empower you for kingdom purpose. We are not disappointed when we ask such things in faith, expecting to receive. He is ready to empower you today to walk in the righteousness, peace, and joy that is the kingdom!
