The Holy Spirit and...Gatorade?

I really enjoy having a new light put on something comfortably familiar. You know, having something already known made fresh and new again. That happened to me at church yesterday.

Having gone to church my entire life, I've always known about the Holy Spirit. In fact, up until just a few years ago I'd always attended Nazarene churches. In case you're not familiar with the Nazarene denomination, it is a Protestant church with an emphasis on sanctification. That is, the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives after we've accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior. The Nazarene denomination is often referred to as a "holiness denomination" along with Free Methodists, the Wesleyan Church and a few others.

"Sanctification" is a word I didn't truly understand as a kid and young adult. I loved the Lord, but as I've shared here many times, I wasn't always living my life with Jesus in control. I had all of Jesus, but He didn't have all of me. That happened on May 27, 1992. On that day, while my baby took a nap in his crib down the hall and my husband was at work, I surrendered everything to Jesus. It is the day I finally understood what sanctification meant!

Yesterday our awesome pastor, Joe Champion of Celebration Church, shared a message in his "Upgrade" series I wish everyone could hear. He talked about the Holy Spirit and Gatorade. Gatorade?! Yep. Let me explain:

Jesus told us in Acts 1:5 that while John's baptism with water was good, we need a Spiritual baptism. Water is good, but sometimes we need something more. Sometimes we need something like...Gatorade. Gatorade replaces and replenishes in ways water can't. When you've been working or playing hard, water is good...but Gatorade is better.

The Holy Spirit is like Gatorade to our souls. Water baptism is essential to a believer, but Spiritual baptism takes you to the next level. Of passion. Of power. Of understanding. Read Acts 2 to get a feel for what Spiritual baptism can do in the lives of ordinary people. Amazing!

In all my 47 years, I've never heard the "holiness" message put so...so...simply! So perfectly understandable. So wonderfully understandable! The Holy Spirit is like Gatorade! That is such an easy, simple, fantastic way to explain it to folks who don't understand the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. To make sure we "took the message home" with us, Pastor Joe gave everyone a packet of Gatorade mix! Ha!

"Sanctification" and "spiritual baptism" may be words some of us can't wrap our minds around, but I think all of us understand Gatorade! Next time you're grappling with understanding the work of the Holy Spirit in your life, grab a bottle and re-read Acts 2. I feel pretty confident it'll all make sense! =)