Moving Further In The Spirit

I once heard the story of a man who had been "seeking" and longing for the baptism in the Holy Ghost for years. He was in every service and every meeting ever held. One day, a guest minister came to their church, taught on the baptism in the Holy Ghost, and this man got baptized. The next night of the meeting, this man was absent from service. The next meeting after that, he was also absent. Concerned friends went to meet him to ask him "why?" And he said, "Didn't you hear? I got through!" Friends, you don't get 'through.' The man thought, "Since I have finally gotten the Holy Ghost and talk in tongues, there is nowhere higher than this level I have attained."

There is always a higher dimension in the Spirit than that which you have attained. You don't settle down where you are. No, you have to move further in the Spirit. Deuteronomy 2:3 says, “Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.” That is, you have stayed on this level for too long; it is time for you to move further.

One of the enemies of progress in the Spirit is satisfaction with your current position. But an even greater enemy is the rejection of biblical possibilities and dimensions of the Spirit because of a religious mentality. To move further in the Spirit, you have to reject satisfaction and get rid of your religious mentality. To be transformed to a higher plane in the Spirit, you need to renew your mind (Romans 12:2). I see you moving further in the Spirit.

Beyond Tongues

Friend, there is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit that the majority of the Church has not yet tapped into. It is a realm I call 'beyond tongues.' You must understand that there are diversities of operations of the Holy Ghost (1 Corinthians 12:6). Don't tie the Spirit of God to a box because there are other operations of the Spirit that you haven't experienced yet. One of such operations is what I want to open your eyes to today: a realm beyond tongues. Psalm 2:4 says, "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh...". Laughter is one of such operations of the Spirit. You must understand that God, who is a Spirit, has the ability to laugh. So, the Spirit of God can laugh. Know that whosoever is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:6).

Every born-again person is born of the Spirit of God; therefore, they are a spirit because God is a Spirit (John 4:24), and like begets like. So, if the Spirit of God can laugh (Psalm 2:4), then the spirit of man can laugh. Mind you, this is not natural laughter. Paul said, "If I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth" (1 Corinthians 14:14). The same way the spirit of man can pray, the spirit of man can laugh. Laughter is a part of the nature of the born-again spirit. Galatians 5:22 says the fruit of the Spirit is love, JOY! So, joy is part of the spiritual DNA of the born-again spirit, and laughter is an expression of joy.

This realm that permits the spirit of man to express the joy on the inside of him is called 'laughing in the spirit.' It’s a realm beyond tongues, but more on this next week! "Joy is part of the spiritual DNA of the born-again spirit. You don't need to look for joy; joy is a nature of your spirit man. Go ahead and express it in laughter!"

Laughing in the Spirit

Most people do not move into this dimension of laughter because they do not understand this 'joy' operation of the Spirit. You must realize that the Spirit of God is referred to as the 'Oil of Joy' (Isaiah 61:3). Laughing in the spirit is similar to praying in the spirit; they are both utterances of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4). As we have stated, the Holy Ghost is the 'Oil of Joy,' so sometimes He expresses Himself to the spirit of man through laughter.

When you laugh in the spirit, your mind is also unfruitful, in the same way, it is when you pray in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:14). So, you don't know why you are laughing or what you are laughing about because your mind is unfruitful. Note that just as one can pray in the spirit at will, one can also laugh in the spirit at will. Paul said, "What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also..." (1 Corinthians 14:15).

Paul also claimed to sing in the spirit at will too. Therefore, you can laugh in the spirit at will, the same way you can sing and pray in the spirit at will. But just as there are times when you are praying in tongues and the anointing comes heavily on you and you seem to just go on praying, words just pour out of you freely. It’s the same way with laughing; sometimes the Oil of Joy comes on heavily and you just go on laughing uncontrollably. Paul calls this "Joy in the Holy Ghost" (Romans 14:17), Peter refers to it as "joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Peter 1:8). Break free of your religious mentalities and move further into the deeper dimensions of the Spirit I am calling you to.

Launching into the Joy Dimension

Friend, "the labor of the foolish wearies everyone of them because he knows not how to go to the city" (Ecclesiastes 10:15). Many know and want to launch into laughter in the Spirit but do not know how to enter this dimension. To access this realm, you must first learn to yield to the Spirit, just like in speaking in tongues, where you yield your tongue to the Spirit. Yielding to the Spirit of God is essential for laughing in the Spirit.

Sometimes the Spirit impresses upon a person to laugh in the Spirit, but they do not yield their tongue. The Bible says we must submit our bodies as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2). Your tongue is a part of your body. You must submit it by yielding to the Spirit of God. Remember, they spoke in tongues as the Spirit gave utterances (Acts 2:1-4). There is an utterance of laughter the Spirit is giving on the inside of you. It is the joy of the Spirit trying to find full expression (Galatians 5:22). You must let the joy flow right through your tongue. The scriptures say, "Open your mouth and I will fill it," and Psalm 126, says, "Then was our mouth filled with laughter." You must also learn to step out in faith. The joy is right in your spirit. So, if you believe that, open your mouth wide and laugh. Just laugh, start out in faith, and then this oil of joy will come heavily on you! Therefore, to launch into this dimension, you must yield your tongue to the Spirit, open your mouth wide, and launch out in faith! That's God's word for you today. Follow these steps, and I see you launching into this joy dimension!

Remain Blessed! Jesus is Lord!

Min. Roi