From the desk of Steve Shultz:
Mahesh and Bonnie Chavda are a highly authoritative couple with a NOW word. Ironically, the very morning I am writing this, I was thinking about keeping our power supplied—and how I might write a word about it. But the Chavdas beat me to it.
My computer power supply kept coming out, and I thought, "This is prophetic," and I was pondering the teaching that was in this simple example. God always used subjects of His day to make HIS prophetic points. He did this often through the mouth of Jesus (Yeshua) as He walked the earth. Even Solomon, in all his glory, looked down at the smallest ant hill and the ways of the ant and said, "Consider the ant and be wise with what you see THEM do" (Proverbs 6:6 paraphrased).
This is most certainly confirmed as a word from the Lord for the moment you read it. I just want you to see how God confirms His word on a daily basis, just as HE did with the Chavdas and me this very day, and we were not in touch at the time. But we WERE in touch with the Holy Spirit.
Please get some of the resources below that go along with this word. It will help us build the Elijah List. And I want to thank you in advance for sowing into this ministry. Great rewards await you.
Mahesh and Bonnie Chavda:
Are Your Batteries Low?
"I didn't know I could do that!" These were the words of 20-year-old Nayara Goncalves after she shared Jesus at gunpoint with a would-be robber. The man entered the store she managed and pulled a gun on her. Instead of panicking, the woman said she felt led to talk to him about Jesus. She said she didn't know why, but she looked into his eyes and felt love and compassion for the man instead of fear. The man listened to her as she told him God loved him and had a better plan for his life. The man left without taking anything. Guess who was helping her? The Holy Spirit. (Source: Fox News)
Acts 2:4 says, "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak..." This young woman began to speak. She didn't know why, but she was filled with the Spirit, and He was with her in that situation, giving her words to speak. This happened right now in our day, not just 2,000 years ago. God is no respecter of persons. The woman brought the anointing with her with a gun pointed at her. We want you to know, even in the most challenging of circumstances, the Holy Spirit is going to be with you to help you!
When Peter, John and the early Christians were being persecuted for their faith, they didn't shrink back, complain to each other about their hard life. No. They went to the Lord and asked for boldness:
"And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to Your servants to continue to speak Your word with all boldness, while You stretch out Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of Your holy servant Jesus." And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.—Acts 4:29-31
What happened? They were filled with the Holy Spirit.
Notice, these were the same guys who were filled in Acts, chapter 2. They were moving in the power of the Holy Spirit. In fact, they were persecuted because they had just healed a man lame from birth at the gates to the Temple (see Acts 3:6-9)! It shows us something. The infilling of the Holy Spirit is not supposed to be a one-time event. It is Scriptural (and necessary) to be continually filled and refilled by the Holy Spirit. One time is not enough.
Get Filled, Get Refilled and Get Refilled Again
It's very much like a battery. A dear friend gave me, Mahesh, the new iPhone 4. I love it, especially as I am often traveling. No matter where I am, as long as I have phone service, I am able to make calls, check my email, surf the web, take notes, even read my Bible! But no matter how great the phone, after several hours of use, it is completely useless. Why? The battery needs to be recharged. There's nothing wrong with the phone, but it needs to be plugged in. Life is like that. Everyday events, irritations and giving of yourself will drain your "batteries". We may be fine, but our charge is getting low.
How do you know your charge is low? If your fuse is short, you find you are critical and accusatory with your family, or you feel your emotions are just on edge, well that's a good sign your battery is low. If your kids say, "Mommy, I'm hungry," and inside you think, "I don't really care if you're hungry," that's a sure sign that you need to be filled. You may realize you are griping and complaining most of the time. The devil is an expert at this and will feed you more and more fuel to drag you down. If you listen to his voice, you will find he will demean you and demean others. God wants to lift you up and make you a vessel of joy and deliverance!
I don't know about your gauge, but I find that at 15% charge, you may start griping to your wife. At 11% you yell at the dog. At 0% you don't even remember that you are a Christian! The thing is, you haven't lost your salvation. You need a charge.
The Bible says to get filled, get refilled and get refilled again.
From the two Scriptures we looked at in Acts, chapter 2 and Acts, chapter 4, we see that we can ask for more of the Holy Spirit. There is not a limit on our charge. It doesn't stop at a set 100%. It gets greater and greater. It goes from faith to faith and glory to glory. The levels of anointing can keep increasing. You can always get more.
What We Think and Speak is Defined by Our Charge
Peter's shadow could heal people. Why? His charge kept increasing and increasing. This is true for the Church too. It's not just about how much anointing you have individually, but it is the collective anointing of all of us together that will give us a greater charge and greater influence in our culture.
When the Church has lost its charge you see the fruit. It begins to lose influence in society and culture. We see this in America as the Church has silently given up—without a fight—our freedoms to pray in school, publicly display symbols of our faith in the public square and shape the laws of our land. We need to be filled—both individually and corporately.
What we think and speak is defined by our charge. If your gauge is showing that your battery is low, there is one answer—get filled. Jude, verse 20 says, "But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit..." This is what happens when our batteries are charged. We are built up. You are not tearing yourself or others down with anger and accusation. You realize that God is for you. He has a destiny to bless you and make you succeed in the plans He has for you. You are filled with God's grace and favor.
Spiritade
Another analogy is found in the human body. How many of you notice how thirsty you get in the hot summer sun? In 1965, the University of Florida football team had a losing record and just didn't seem to be able to perform in the Florida heat. The Gator's coaches went to their team doctors and asked them to figure out how to help the players. They determined the players were getting dehydrated and losing key electrolytes and energy that affected their performance and stamina in practice and in the game. The physicians created a special, formulated beverage, and the team began to use it with astonishing results. They finished the season with a winning record and went on to win the Orange bowl for the first time in the team's history. The simple change of refueling the player's depleted energy and electrolyte needs was the key to their success. Now that drink, known as Gatorade, is found on nearly every athletic field in the world. It gives athletes a winning edge.
Christians have been given a "Gatorade" that no one else has. It is the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Those that don't have the Holy Spirit don't have the winner's edge.
The key is to keep drinking every day. To get baptized once thirty years ago and never taking another sip would be like a marathon runner saying, "I drank Gatorade eight months ago." If you are living and breathing, you need to drink. We all have days where we need Gatorade in the Spirit. Keep asking for more. John 7:37 says, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."
So, if you are dehydrated what do you do? Come to Jesus! It's good to be thirsty. It's a sign that you are a healthy human being. Your body is not criminal when it lets you know it needs something to drink. In the same way, the daily challenges of life will drain you in the natural and in the spiritual. Your spiritual man is made to follow Christ, and you need to be refilled every day to stay filled up and healthy.
Ephesians 5:18 tells us to "be filled with the Spirit." It's not just a command. It's an essential experience for all Christians. It is not a one-time event, but continuous. We cannot help but get drained as we go through life day to day. But we need to get charged. Not only will it keep us filled with joy and peace, but it is for our protection. People who are drained make wrong decisions. They even read God's signals incorrectly.
I like to compare it to someone who is stranded in a lifeboat. Water everywhere, but not a drop to drink. Parched, hungry, sunburned and dehydrated after days of isolation at sea, it is not uncommon to hear reports of survivors who began to hallucinate or imagine things that were not true. They began to make decisions based on their altered state of mind rather than reality. The same thing can happen in the spiritual. Extreme thirst or spiritual malnutrition will influence your thinking. You may think you are making the right decision, but you are not. For instance, a couple who have been married for years will inexplicably decide they need a divorce. They needed to get their batteries recharged. Never make a major decision when your batteries are low!
Keeping a Full Charge
How do you stay charged in the Spirit?
1. Get connected: How many times have you gone to turn on a lamp and nothing happened when you hit the switch? Often, it's not a problem with the light bulb, but the lamp is not plugged in. It's the same when you want to charge your spiritual batteries. You have to be plugged in. What's our connection? The Heavenly Father. How do you get plugged in? 1) Salvation through Jesus Christ. 2) Baptism in the Holy Spirit. 3) Baptism in water. 4) Member of a local church. When you initially check to see if you are plugging in, make sure these steps are taken care of.
2. Stay immersed in the Scriptures. Read and meditate on the Bible every day.
3. Pray in tongues.
4. Worship, praise and thanksgiving.
5. Pray without ceasing. Keep a continual flow of prayer going in your inner man all the time.
6. Learn to hear and obey the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Be Baptized in the Holy Spirit
If you have never been filled and baptized in the Holy Spirit, He is available for you right now. All you have to do is ask (see Luke 11:11-13). If you have made Jesus your Lord and Savior, then we invite you to pray this prayer for the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
Father God, I believe Jesus died for my sins, was buried and was resurrected on the third day. I thank You, Lord, that I'm forgiven, and all my sins are washed away. I renounce the kingdom of darkness, and I receive the Kingdom of God. Jesus, You are my Lord and my Savior. I ask You now to fill me to overflowing with Your Holy Spirit. Fill me now, Lord; baptize me in Your Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues. I thank You for this wonderful gift in Jesus' name, amen.
Now we encourage you to just begin to worship the Lord in thanksgiving. As you do, begin to open your mouth, and let your voice begin to sing and give sound to the flow of the Holy Spirit. You may just get one or two syllables at first, but begin to speak, and let the gift of tongues fill your mouth.
We pray that you experience the joy of the Holy Spirit as you welcome His infilling. He is your Helper, your Friend and will fill you with His boldness and love, wisdom and power for your life and your place of need today.
If you want to learn more about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or you want to increase in the flow of the Holy Spirit in you and through you, our best-selling book, The Hidden Power of Speaking in Tongues, will launch you to the next level of faith and impartation for your journey in the Lord.
Mahesh and Bonnie Chavda
Mahesh Chavda Ministries
Email: info@maheshchavda.com
