I have an app on my phone that provides updates and warnings about local activity like car accidents, heavy traffic, fires, inclement weather and police activity among other things. Receiving these warnings and notifications is helpful because they can help me avoid trouble and keep me safe.

But when I leave town for a few days I turn these notifications off. It's not that I find that warnings and updates to no longer be valid or legitimate - they are. It's just that they are no longer relevant. While what they are alerting me to may be very real and very dangerous, it's just not anywhere near where I am at the time. I'm so far away from that trouble that the warnings bear no relevance to me.

Christians love to provide warnings - in particular, warnings about things related to the Holy Spirit. Over the years I've heard the activity of the Holy Spirit warned against under the guise of avoiding "charismatic excesses" and "emotionalism" or "eastern spirituality." While these warnings all may be valid and legitimate, as I look around the evangelical church in the United States, I'm not sure that the warnings are always relevant.

Here's what I mean; in 2009 George Barna surveyed nearly 2,000 American Christians. When presented with this statement; "The Holy Spirit is a symbol of God’s power or presence but is not a living entity,” an embarrassing 58% of Christians agreed! Further, another 9% were unsure. Only 1/3rd of those responding were convinced that the Holy Spirit is even real! Barna concluded that most American Christians do not believe that the Holy Spirit exists.

We've warned people all the way into unbelief!

Maybe it's time to issue a new, more relevant warning - that without the real, living presence of the Holy Spirit, you do not belong to Christ or His church and will not be able to live a God-glorifying, deeply satisfying Christian life. You won't be saved or sanctified without the Holy Spirit.

Let's be clear, based on a standard, historic Christian view of the Trinity, to deny that the Holy Spirit is a real living entity is to deny the Trinitarian God. THIS is the crisis that we need to be warning people about!

In the Old Testament, Joel prophesied that God would pour the Holy Spirit out on mankind (Joel 2.28). John the Baptist proclaimed that the Messiah would baptize or immerse people with the Holy Spirit (Mt. 3.11). Paul taught that anyone who does not have the Holy Spirit does not belong to Christ (Rom. 8.9) and that we should be continually filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5.18)

If the majority of Christians don't even acknowledge that the Holy Spirit is real, we've got a long way to go before we can use words like "poured out," "baptized" and "full" to describe the Holy Spirit's work in the church.

Listen, I don't want people to "fake it" when it comes to the Holy Spirit. But our warnings about the “fake” have resulted in people believing that the Holy Spirit Himself is fake - or at most symbolic and metaphorical. If we really want people not to "fake" their Christianity, we can't just warn them against the counterfeits, we have to provide them with the authentic.

I also don't want people to get caught up in emotionalism. The Holy Spirit is not an emotion. However, the Holy Spirit does have emotions, and you better believe that if you are filled with the Holy Spirit that you will feel what He feels. When He is grieved, you'll be grieved. When He is pleased, you'll be pleased. You will feel what the Holy Spirit feels if you are full of the Holy Spirit.

I know that there is debate in the church about the things of the Holy Spirit - when does His baptism take place? Is that the same as being filled? What spiritual gifts are available to us? Were these things unique to the period of the New Testament?

Before we address those questions, there is one question that is more pressing; do you need what the early church needed, or are you good? Are you satisfied with the nearness to God and effectiveness in ministry that you are currently experiencing, or are you hungry for more?

Hunger for God is the path forward, not fear of the false.

When navigating tricky theological topics it's important to recognize your attitude toward the process. Many people are driven by one of two approaches; "Fear of the false" or "Hunger for what is real".

"Fear of the false" often refers to abuses and misuses, heresies and extremes in an attempt to create distance from an idea. "Fear" is willing to throw the baby out with the bath water, which requires no discernment at all. "Fear" masquerades as discernment, but makes sweeping statements that are not discerning. The logical conclusion of "Fear" is to avoid just about everything and everyone, to isolate and to attack others. It's the breeding ground for fundamentalism.

"Hunger for what is real" starts from a place of wanting more and wanting it to be genuine. "Hunger" still discards abuses, misuses and heresies - not because it is afraid, but because it is unsatisfied with anything that is not authentic or genuine. "Hunger" fuels true discernment. "Hunger" is always asking; "How much of God can I know and experience personally?"

Hunger for God always precedes the deeper life in the Spirit.

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To listen to a sermon on this topic, click here and find; “Hunger for God Precedes the Filling of the Holy Spirit.” at the bottom of the page.