I pray you have the heart to understand what I am writing today.
The Holy Spirit is a powerful God. The Spirit’s power is such that Christians are likely to relegate it’s role in our faith lives to either: our spiritual closet, deep storage, for only certain types of Christians, ascribing its power as normal faith experiences. The presence of the Holy Spirit, and its power in our lives is transformative. It changes us. Perhaps that is why we tend not to deal with it.
God has given us the Holy Spirit freely. The Old Testament participation of the Holy Spirit is realized only at God’s sending. When the Israelites were wandering the desert and murmuring for lack of meat, God promised to provide quail. His instruction to Moses was to gather the 70 elders and God would
“come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them.” (Numbers 11:11, ESV.)
The Spirit was certainly given to Jesus as prophesied by Isaiah in the 42nd chapter,
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.”
But, now the Spirit—and all of its power and might and grace—is given to us in Jesus. All its power. All its might. All its grace. Jesus told those who chose to follow him,
“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14:25-26)
Only in the power of the Spirit can we be taught ALL things and be reminded of EVERYTHING God has revealed to us.
This Spirit, and all its divine power, is such that it changes us, spiritually and visibly! Remember when Jesus invited three of his disciples (Peter, John and James) to put everything down and spend time with him in prayer? The Spirit came and changed Jesus.
“And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white.” (Luke 9:29)
Even better, the Spirit is FOR us! Verse 30:
“And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.”
Two guys who put their crocs on one foot at a time, just like you and me, were changed by God’s Spirit promised to us in Jesus Christ.
That should make us shudder within because, well you know, we are too proud, too spiritually in control, to show any trepidation externally. The power of the Spirit should also make yield to the Almighty God who desires for us to live in the abundance of a life with Him. That can only happen in the power of the Spirit.
If you are baptized, you have been given the Spirit. So exercise the gifts of the Spirit lest we become spiritually flabby and unaware of the immeasurable, experience breadth of God’s favor in our lives. Let’s live in the power of the Spirit together. Fear not what will happen when we submit to all that God has for us. Be willing to be transfigured.
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Christian, Husband, Father, Pastor
