Amazing things happen when ordinary men and women are led and filled by the Spirit of God. What does that statement mean to you? Do you believe that’s possible?
Maybe not, because you don’t really know enough about the Holy Spirit to appreciate how “He” works in the life of a believer. Many Christians today have never contemplated the Power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Or for that matter, even have a clear understanding of “who” the Holy Spirit is. Some believers even doubt the existence of the Holy Spirit.
Too many hearts and lives remain unchanged because of this deficit in knowledge and understanding. We need more than sound doctrine - we need the Power of God working at full capacity in our lives. Change is what He is all about... changing you into a “worthy vessel for His use”... transforming you into a Christ-like believer with an all consuming passion for doing the will of God.
Most of us are aware of the excesses attributed to the Holy Spirit, from emotional fanaticism to outright charlatans teaching untruths about His work in the world and in you. But in spite of the counterfeits and misinformation, the Holy Spirit remains real and available to Christians willing to yield totally to “His” leading and influence.
The Holy Spirit longs to reveal the mind of God to each one of us and to release heavens limitless resources to meet the desperate needs in the world today. He... the Holy Spirit is a "divine person" of the Triune God, who works through committed Christians to accomplish the divine plan of the ages... to rescue fallen man from sin and lay the foundation for the “return" of Christ Jesus.
I cannot help but believe that there are many Christians who want to be more effective and efficient in the Lord’s service, in sharing the Gospel with family, friends, anyone encountered. It's from the Holy Spirit that we may expect to grow in our effectiveness in serving Kingdom matters.
The work of God is not accomplished by the might of men or by the powers of men, but it is by God... in the person of the Holy Spirit. It is by Him that truth convicts, converts, sanctifies and saves. He can’t be manipulated by any person or defined by any movement or ideas of man. Vows and promises alone, no matter how sincere, can never overcome the power of the world, the flesh, and the works of the devil. It takes a power beyond our strength... the Holy Spirit.
Christians have a mission to accomplish, given by Jesus himself. Only by the outpouring of the Spirit’s Power can we [individually and collectively] expect to make a difference. The promise of this divine ability recorded in Acts 1:8 was in fact the last thing Jesus said before his ascension [return] to heaven. You will receive power.......You will be my witnesses....... to the ends of the earth. Jesus promised then and that promise has not changed - we are supernaturally equipped to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Without the Holy Spirit there is no deep understanding of Scripture. Wisdom and maturity are but hollow words and our worship is shallow and self-serving. Preaching is mechanical, rarely or maybe never truly piercing the heart. Conviction of sin is almost nonexistent. Faith is more mental than heartfelt. Prayer time... in groups and individually fades away. Church meetings become routine and boring. The result is tragic....Christian people live in a “lukewarm limbo,” never discovering or embracing the power God promised in the person of the Holy Spirit. Your commitment, your baptism in obedience to the gospel, gets you a promise of unparalleled magnitude... the indwelling Holy Spirit... God in YOU... working to make you all God knows you can be.
Consider what the apostle Paul says about the proper balance of human effort and dependence upon the Spirit’s Power: “To this end I labor, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me...” Colossians 1:29
Peter’s sermon at Pentecost...was the first sermon ever preached in Church history under the anointing and empowering Holy Spirit. Peter himself was a metamorphosis of the Spirit's power... transformed from a fair-weather friend of Jesus [denied Him three times] into a passionately committed, Spirit-led apostle.
Whatever God calls us to do, He will also be faithful in equipping us to do it successfully. We must never forget that we are “co-laborers” with Christ through the Holy Spirit’s work in us and through us.
Acts 6: 3... “known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom”. Clearly, it was evident to the Apostles that there was a visible noticeable distinction between those who displayed the Power of Holy Spirit and those who did not display it at all. The Holy Spirit is either working at full force or not at all. The Spirit’s work of transformation and change shows up in one’s attitudes, choices and decisions, enthusiasm, passion for seeking the lost, and demonstrated by personal actions in harmony with the mentoring and leading of the Holy Spirit.
God did not come in the person of the Holy Spirit to give us thrills and chills. He came in this manner because it is the best form for Him to work with us through the travails of a fallen world... to equip us and help us workout our salvation. Jesus gave the command of the Great Commission as recorded at Matthew 28:19-20... the Holy Spirit works to empower and equip us to win lost people to Jesus.
The Holy Spirit is a living, speaking, divine person - the third personage of the Divine Trinity. He gives divine guidance and leading on what needs to be done in order to advance the Church...the body of Christ. He does it exclusively thru committed and totally submitted Christians.
Phillipians 2:13 says....”It is God who works in you to will and act according to his good purpose”. Notice that we need God’s help no just in the "doing" part, but also in the "willing" part to walk in His ways. It is God’s work from beginning to end. Just as forgiveness can only come through Christ’s work on the Cross, successful daily living for the Lord can only be achieved through the Power of the Holy Spirit working fully in our lives.
The power to be different comes from the Holy Spirit, not from any source known or devised by man, and certainly not from our own strength. Every other system you may have heard about no matter how religious sounding is a fraud and leads to defeat due to the fleshly impulses and schemes of our sinful nature.
If you are a Christian, then you are saying to God... change me. Transform me into a person who can do what YOU... the Holy Spirit, needs me to do... needs me to be. I am clay in your hands, mold me into a useful and productive tool for your use. All that may sound complicated, and maybe even a bit scary... but it really is not a frightful experience. All you have to be is totally submissive, honest of mind and heart and “God in the person of the Holy Spirit” will work amazing miracles in your life.
Whatever God is doing today in our world, He is doing it in the "person of the Holy Spirit." He has no other presence on this planet. CHRISTIANS are the outward visible manifestation of the work of the Holy Spirit in the world today. Just as there is no salvation without Jesus, there can be no satisfying Christian living and witness without the Power of the Holy Spirit working fully in our lives.
The Holy Spirit is the appropriate manifestation of all that God is... from his holiness, his righteousness, his love and mercy... to the compelling desire to preach the gospel to the lost. The Holy Spirit is the best way for God to work out the salvation of His followers in a fallen world dominated by His adversary Satan.
The Holy Spirit’s blessing and power is the key to everything. Here’s the really great news: It’s all FREE! Salvation is free. Forgiveness of sin is free. Your name written in the book of life in heaven is free. And the Power of the Holy Spirit to live the Christian life is free. EVERYTHING we need is FREE... from the hand of a gracious and loving God.
It is not through human talent or any earthly resources no matter how powerful they may seem, that the true Christian Church is sustained; but rather it is through men and women saturated with God’s Holy Spirit and full of His Word.
God will act the same way today towards us, as he did nearly 2000 years ago to the first believers in the infancy of the Christian Church. He will transform our lives, invade and bless our Church, and equip us to do things beyond “all we (could) ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us...” Ephesians 3:20.
He is waiting for you to take Him seriously. He is waiting for you to invite Him in, let go of the steering wheel of your life and let Him do the driving. We have the most powerful resource for living and "growing in Christ" the world will ever know... God Himself... interacting with willing and obedient believers, in the Person of the Holy Spirit.
Wrap your brain cells around that for awhile. Pray about your intimate connection and relationship with the Holy Spirit and watch what happens.
For all Christians everywhere... yield yourselves totally to the Spirit of the Living God.
