– Watch your motives.
Ensure you are not holding the meeting because “that’s what everyone else is doing.” This is VERY key. You must be led to do so. The things of the Spirit are to glorify Christ (1 Corinthians 12:3). Once it’s about you, then it’s no longer about Him.
– Don’t forget God’s heart
He wants to meet the needs of His people, not show off ability or knowledge. He wants to save men, fill them with the Spirit, heal any bodily illnesses and open the eyes of their understanding (spiritual growth). This should be your heart too, not to show off. Make the needs of others your priority. It’s easier to flow with the Holy Spirit when you have the needs of others as your priority. He CANNOT be manipulated to meet your own ambitions, you flow with Him, not Him with you.
– Be filled with the Spirit.
This is done by speaking in tongues. Be continually filled with the Spirit. Just one filling is not enough. You must be CONTINUALLY filled with the Spirit. We see that in Acts 2:4, it was said of the disciples that they were filled with the Spirit but in Acts 4:23-24, they were filled AGAIN. So there is the INITIAL infilling (evidenced by speaking with tongues) and then several other CONTINUOUS refillings. These NEVER end. Tongues edifies (1 Corinthians 14:14), that is, it builds up and it is for fellowship i.e speaking with God (1 Corinthians 14:2). To have a spirit-filled meeting, the participants must first of all be filled with the Spirit.
– Sing Spirit- filled songs.
This affects the atmosphere and aids the receptivity of men’s hearts. Songs that are full of the realities of the New Testament in Christ Jesus, not songs begging God to do something. Sing spirit-filled songs with hands lifted high not carnally clapped. Have a reverencial attitude. Submissive hearts are key to a move of the Spirit. Lift your hands when you are told to, don’t be individualistic.
– Don’t make A move of the Spirit THE move of the Spirit.
The fact that a person got healed by you speaking a word doesn’t mean that this is the case for all; sometimes, you might need to lay hands. Don’t box the Spirit, flow with Him!
– Don’t substitute brass for gold (2 Chronicles 12:9-10).
Rehoboam replaced the gold in the Temple with brass. Brass looks a lot like gold but it isn’t. You must not substitute the real for an imitation.
For example, in the laying on of hands, there is real “gold” (people really being overwhelmed by glory and falling under the power of God). But then, there is also “brass” (ministers forcefully pushing people down). We must avoid trying to conjure things up in order to feed our own egos.
– Avoid Pride.
When God uses you to bless others, do not get puffed up with pride. Humility is essential. To get caught up in titles, celebrity status and attention is to operate in the flesh. You must die to your ego, even with the praises of men.
– Be drunk in the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:16, Acts 2:13-14).
Go all out without caring what people think. DELIBERATELY take from the joy resident within and laugh and rejoice!
– Fellowship with the Spirit.
The supernatural is usually an outpouring or overflow from a relationship with God. Spend time meditating on the Word and in prayer, especially in between breaks in the sessions of the meeting. You should be doing these instead of engaging in petty chats &gists.
– Flow with the minister.
God has ordained that in EVERY Christian meeting, there be a head to oversee affairs. There CANNOT be more than one head. If we are to flow with God’s Spirit, we must flow with His physical representation in the meeting. This would include honouring him/her and obeying his/her instructions DILIGENTLY.
Strife within the team as well as among the participants in the meeting would hinder us from flowimg with the Spirit of God, you must maintain the love walk.
Even the musicians too, you are to flow with the minister. Musicians are a ministry of helps in the gathering of the Saints; they are to aid the ministry gifts, not try to outshine them. This is key because music plays a HUGE part in Christian meetings. In 2 Kings 3, Elisha needed a minstrel before he could prophesy.
When they are singing and the minister comes up to teach, they must stop singing IMMEDIATELY and play the instruments softly. The decision to keep singing is not yours, but the minister’s.
– The gifts of the Spirit operate in a domino effect.
That is, one leads to another. There is a prescription we can follow as seen in 1 Corinthians 14 — the utterance gifts (tongues, interpretation of tongues and prophecy) come first, followed by revelation gifts (word of knowledge, word of wisdom and discerning of spirits) then power gifts (gifts of healings, working of miracles and the gift of supernatural faith).
– Ministry, not performance
Ministering in prayer, songs and the Word is to meet the needs of others, not show off. You must have this in mind EVERY SINGLE TIME. No matter what your function is, you are to keep in mind that you are a minister, not a celebrity.
– Order.
Order in Christian gatherings is VERY important. Order was ordained for a reason (1 Corinthians 14:26, 39-40).
Edification is key. Don’t, as a music minister, begin to preach or make altar calls while ministering. That’s not your place! It’s disorder! We must allow God’s way of doing things, rather than ours. Allow the minister leading the meeting to decide this.
-Do not be individualistic.
A key thing about Christian meetings is oneness of mind (Acts 2:1 – “they were gathered in one accord” vs. 4 – “they were ALL filled and they ALL spoke in tongues,” 1 Corinthians 14:26 – “whenever you come together, each of you has..”). We must ALL be found doing the SAME things; when others are praying, pray. When they are lifting up their hands or bowing down in worship, don’t do otherwise. Take notes as the Word is taught. Receive of the power of God as it is ministered to you. Laugh as others laugh, rejoice as they rejoice. Be ONE with the meeting.
Your Participation is key. Do what others are doing. Don’t be caught sight seeing or looking around. When others are coming under the power of God, you are not different! Participate as well!
– Come with your desires and expectations.
You don’t attend Christian meetings casually. You MUST come with expectations to receive, whether it’s physical healing or ministry needs. You must believe that your needs will be met. Your expectations are a product of your faith and faith gives direction to the power of God. Faith directs the power of God towards you in the gatherings!
– Be flexible and adaptable.
You must ALWAYS be ready for change at a moment’s notice (especially in Holy Ghost meetings). Don’t rely TOO MUCH on rehearsals or time schedules. Be open to a move of the Spirit at ANY time. Allow for spontaneity.
– Continuity.
When the Spirit gets to moving, don’t cut off the flow. Allow Him do what He wants to do till He is done! This might take several hours but allow for it. Don’t be TOO rigid.
– Follow after love (1 Corinthians 13- 14:1)
Love in your heart ensures that the other is blessed. When the people are not walking in love, they hinder themselves from flowing with the Spirit. They stop seeing what God is doing in and through them and this affects their receiving. Truth is, receiving has to do MORE with the congregation than the minister. He GIVES, you must RECEIVE!
– Give thanks.
How many times have you ACTUALLY thanked God for a successful meeting after it is done? Many don’t. You must hold a special meeting afterwards to simply give thanks. This is done in the lifting up of your hands (1 Timothy 2:8), singing with tongues (1 Corinthians 14:13-17) and making melody with your heart to the Lord (Ephesians 5:18-20).
© Josh Banks Ministries. 2019.
