Truth of the Spirit with Patti Brunner answers the question “Why Life in the Spirit?”  She describes the joy of abundant life, the satisfaction of truth, the fulfillment of the promises of faith and how blindness keeps us from the fullness that God offers to us as a gift. Why Life in the Spirit?  Those who have experienced the full outpouring of the Spirit on earth say, “Why not Life in the Spirit!” See the category “Life in the Spirit” for episodes of this great topic published by Truth of the Spirit. For the Blog of this episode or video and audio links please continue reading below.

Welcome to Truth of the Spirit.  I’m Patti Brunner.  Today we’ll be speaking about an amazing change in your life that is free and can bring you from living in a black and white world into Technicolor.  Millions of Catholics have stepped forward to the joy of abundant life, the satisfaction of truth, the fulfillment of the promises of faith—especially in the relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as eyes are opened to the Love of the Father.  Where can you find this for your life?  This episode answers the question! “Why Life in the Spirit?”

Life in the Spirit is sometimes difficult to explain to others who have no frame of reference.  One thing we know:  “I was one way and now am another.” One of the public miracles of Jesus was the healing of the man born blind. The man healed was asked to explain it by the leaders, John 9: 25, “He replied, “One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.””

Blindness is not only with those who are in total darkness but with those who are blinded temporarily due to “passing traffic”. 

I think that most of us don’t realize that we ARE blind, that we’ve been accepting the routine of living in darkness until God’s love is poured out upon us! Life in the Spirit reveals God’s love poured out! This can be the Baptism of the Spirit but it can also be any conversion experience that touched you deeply.  The term “Life in the Spirit” helps us to identify it and can give us a means to seek it.

I also think many Christians are surviving with a thimble full of grace.  Our thimble is full and we are satisfied with what our culture tells us is fullness and we have no idea how much of an abundant life is available.  Yet, the Divine Mercy of God pours forth grace like Niagara Falls.  Why Life in the Spirit?  It sets you on a path for more.  And your thimble stretches and grows and soon you have a cup that runneth over!  And with hunger for holiness you empty sin out of your cup and now it stretches into a large pool that is still overflowing. God’s love is an ocean. Whatever you are willing to grow in size will be filled to overflowing.

Growth comes from experience and in giving out.  Scripture, Church heritage, writings by Saints, Missions and ministries all enhance.  Life in the Spirit calls you to remember to love, pray, have joy, and share.  These provide an abundant life—even in the midst of ‘imperfection’.

The Lord told me that the youth have not heard truth even though it has been taught to them.  Life in the Spirit can open hearts to know how much God loves them:  and to experience that love as Jesus overcomes the fear of suffering and death.  Jesus overcomes the fear of ridicule and rejection.  He stepped out of the acceptable norm to do what was just and what pleased the Father.  Jesus did not judge others but always treated even the ‘public’ sinners with love and compassion.  True, he did speak bluntly to those who closed their hearts and minds to the truth, but even this bluntness did not sharpen the senses of those whose hearts were set against him. Life in the Spirit opens our hearts and minds to truth!  Why Life in the Spirit?  It gives sight to the blind. 

Jesus overcame to heal, to drive out demons, and to manifest God’s glory.  He demonstrated God’s kingdom on earth and taught to pray each day for the kingdom to be manifested on earth as it is in heaven.  Life in the Spirit manifests heaven on earth!

Have you ever wanted more?  Jesus came to give us a more abundant life, can you imagine what that could be like?    Life in the Spirit brings the joy of abundant life. Accept it and bring the joy of the Lord into the hearts of the captives and they shall also be free.  Joy is great to win battles; it is a tool of the Lord to destroy the plots of the enemy.  The enemy seeks to destroy your joy.  He will not. The Holy Spirit is a Giver.  He gives love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  He gives gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, mighty deeds, prophecy, discernment of spirits, varieties of tongues, and interpretation of tongues.  He gives gifts of administration and teaching, of encouragement and more!  I recently saw a list of 50 things the Holy Spirit does for us.  I dare say that is a drop in the bucket!   Why Life in the Spirit?  It brings the joy of abundant life.

Ask the Holy Spirit to stir into flame the grace that was bestowed at Baptism and Confirmation.  The glory of the Lord shall be upon you and you shall be changed.  Desire the Lord, for today He shall be yours.  Desire the Lord, above all things with your whole heart, your whole mind, your whole soul and all this shall be given unto you. The power of the Most high created the world, the stars, the universe and grasshoppers and you—the Lord God can create for you a clean heart—turn to Him and you shall know his power, his glory, his grace.  Turn to Him and you shall become harvesters for the Kingdom of God.  Lives will be touched and generations shall be saved.  It is the Will of the Lord.  It is to you whom the Lord speaks his great commission.  Accept it and be blessed.

Life in the Spirit brings the satisfaction of truth.  Just like eating empty calories cannot satisfy hunger, the innate hunger for God is only satisfied by truth.  Life in the Spirit gives the wisdom and discernment to identify the weeds from the wheat.  It helps you to recognize the ploys of the devil and to see through his lies.  It reveals the truth, the truth that is right before you that you never knew.  And, most of all, you will know the truth that God loves you.  The turning towards the Lord brings hope, joy, fulfillment, satisfaction and sense of direction in a life that has ‘flapped in the breeze’.  It is blessing the Lord for the blessings of stability and prosperity that the person has, recognizing that we are to thank God for all things, even struggles, and in doing so we find peace.

Why Life in the Spirit?  It brings the fulfillment of the promises of faith—especially in the relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as eyes are opened to the Love of the Father. 

Living without the fullness of the Holy Spirit in our heart is like having a loose wire.  The effect of sin causes shorting out. Life in the Spirit reminds us that reconciliation re-establishes contact by cleansing the contact points.  To avoid the problem –stripping the wire is required—dropping away the ‘world’s coating.  God’s plan is for us to become outlet boxes.

The Season of Easter tells the purpose for the coming of Christ to the earth:  redemption, salvation, restoration of the people to God through grace and the result:  Dwelling of the Holy Spirit within you.  Unless Jesus leaves and sits at the Father’s right hand the Spirit could not be sent—with the absence of Jesus, in our need, we seek the Holy Spirit; Through Jesus we are made worthy to be a dwelling place. 

The gifts manifested in Jesus prove the Holy Spirit in “man”.  Our inheritance—only after the risen Lord had left us—is the greatest inheritance to us his adopted sons and daughters—the Holy Spirit.  Our inheritance is without measure:  more than enough for all.  The Holy Spirit himself reveals “how much” to us as we accept & grow.  “Hints” to recognize these gifts given, promised in Isaiah:  wisdom, fortitude, etc., then witnessed by Jesus’ life:  wisdom, healing, mighty deeds then explodes in the early church after Pentecost as the “understanding” gift manifests and releases various gifts within the Church.  We affected today by Easter, the Ascension & the fulfillment of the promise of Jesus to send to us the Holy Spirit.  Charismatic not a “movement” but an intricate core of the Catholic Church.

Why is there refusal of gifts?  Why do we not know the Holy Spirit?  We do not know the Father & Jesus, for once we are in relationship with Father and Son the Holy Spirit will dwell in us. 

In 1943 Pope Pius XII published the Prayer to the Holy Spirit; it became a directive in Vatican II and the translation of the 1970 New American Bible, and the prayer is published in the front of that bible. “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love.”   A key to being filled is a prayer of surrender!

As grace continues to change lives, your own life included, the grace of Life in the Spirit provides light on the particular focus of each unique life.  Without fulfillment of God’s plan—who knows the number of hairs on Your head—the fullness of fulfillment is lacking.  By grace, in the Lord’s sovereign power, the majority find their Way yet freewill allows many to turn away as they embrace darkness.

Even the simplest of souls can live a magnificent life in the Spirit.  Certainly the gifts of charisms enrich the life of the Church—indeed of all mankind who avail themselves to these powerful gifts—even when they themselves are not called to a particular Charismatic ministry, a particular Spirit filled ministry.  Life in the Spirit is also a life devoted to the Sacraments, the Holy Scriptures and to the intercession of the Saints, including Mother Mary. 

Part of the Life in the Spirit Seminar or Workshop is the sharing of personal witness by those who have experienced the grace outpoured by the Holy Spirit.  Though nowhere complete, I have tried to keep track of these sorts of experiences over the years.  My problem is not coming up with something to share but to narrow it down from the literally hundreds of experiences I have had since the fire of the Holy Spirit was stirred up in the depth of my heart.  Many have been shared with you scattered within various episodes.  There are a couple of episodes on Truth of the Spirit where I have specifically shared portions of my witness; one about when I first received the outpouring of the Spirit—the Baptism of the Spirit—and one at a Magnificat meeting about the calling the Lord gave me as a Spirit-filled Catholic.  But there’s more.  With the Holy Spirit, there’s always more! 

Before Life in the Spirit when I went to mass I sat, I listened, I sang, I went to Communion.  Now I when hear or proclaim God’s Word at Massand receive the Body and Blood of Christ, I enter eternity, I have intimacy with God, I open myself up to His grace.   Before, I focused on the things of the world and sought happiness through worldly relationships and entertainment, even though some of what I did, I know now was sinful.  Now I focus on the Will of God and find joy, peace, contentment,–indeed all the fruits of the Spirit; relationships have improved as they became more holy.  Now when I listen to God’s voice my heart opens to receive the Holy Spirit.  This grace nourished me like protein and vitamins but instead of just physical strength I have been empowered spiritually.  I studied the Bible in groups before I fully began Life in the Spirit, but Life in the Spirit triggered a hunger and thirst for the Word of God—to read the WHOLE Bible with a growing understanding, and a hunger and thirst for all sorts of Christian formation.  Life in the Spirit continues to build stone on stone, with the foundation of the Holy Catholic Church that Jesus and the Holy Spirit founded.

Living Life in the Spirit has provided the grace and the boldness to trust God completely whether stepping out to purchase a ministry house and subcontract its renovation, or stopping people in public to ask them if they are going to Church, or personally praying for people with all sorts of needs and watching God do amazing things.  Life in the Spirit has helped me in small daily ways, too, helping me make little decisions and big ones; restoring my peace when circumstances of stress arise, helping me examine my conscience before the sacraments, giving me the prompting to pray.  My husband and I have seen God answer a lot of prayers with a very quick “Yes!”

Oh my, and the charisms!   Who knew these gifts were given so freely by God in Life in the Spirit!  Given to build up the Church, they have built up so many individuals within the Church!  Including me!  Truth of the Spirit also has an episode specifically about the ministry of charisms and asking God to allow you to receive them.  I know that God gave me the ministry of the Charism of Healing for a season, and ministry of his Charism of Prophecy is ongoing in my life as I continue to write episodes for Truth of the Spirit.  The times the Lord has manifested the Charism of Prophecy through visions, I have found them to be significant for a lifetime. 

When your heart is moved by God’s love it is an important moment in your life.  So often people ‘sleep-walk’ through the most important moments of their lives!  The presence of God is real.  Too many just are not aware that the great “I Am” is in their midst.  ‘I Am’ is here.  I have met Him in the cool of the evening and upon the mountain top, I met Him when the Spirit flooded my soul and body, and indeed when He called me into a moment of fullness of the kingdom.  And I meet Him every time I open the eyes of my heart to hear Him.

Why Life in the Spirit?  Remember that all of God’s children who are baptized have the Holy Spirit within them.  The Life in the Spirit teachings are to encourage them how to discover it, to open their eyes to see and to recognize and realize God with them, God is in them.

To help you to explore and participate in Life in the Spirit, Truth of the Spirit will post several talks that have been offered in a Life in the Spirit Seminar.  Local seminars may have a little different flow because of the variety of witnesses who share them and because the Holy Spirit may have something specific for your community.  Other key elements in the personal local seminars are the availability of praise music and personal prayer for the participants by those gifted with the ministries of particular charisms.  If your group is watching our videos as an alternative to attending a Life in the Spirit Teaching, we recommend that your leader encourage you in those key ways.

Why Life in the Spirit?  Why not Life in the Spirit! You’ve been listening to Truth of the Spirit.  I’m Patti Brunner.  You can read this blog post at PatriarchMinistries.com/153. Check out our playlist on the Holy Spirit on YouTube. But whatever you do, come back for more.  With the Holy Spirit there’s always more!  Amen.