A Disciple of Jesus …Moves in Power of the Holy Spirit

As disciples of Jesus, we are called to move in the power of the Holy Spirit. This is one of the key signs that we are Jesus' disciples:

Mark 16:17-18 - 17And these miracle signs will accompany those who believe: They will drive out demons in the power of My name. They will speak in tongues. 18They will be supernaturally protected from snakes and from drinking anything poisonous. And they will lay hands on the sick and heal them."

Whilst some scholars dispute whether this passage was part of the original scriptures, it mirrors what Jesus instructed His disciples to do in Matthew 10:1-8, Mark 6:7-13 and Luke 9:1-6. Jesus makes the power of the Holy Spirit available to all of His disciples.

How much fellowship do we have with the Holy Spirit (see 2 Corinthians 13:14 - May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.)? In Old Testament times, the Holy Spirit visited special people from time to time - think of judges like Samson - but, in the New Testament, He comes to live within us, and He manifests His fruit and gifts through us. The culture has shifted from being visitational to being habitational.

I don't know whether you remember the worship song 'Father, we love You; we worship and adore You'. When it was a new song, in the late 1970s, it caused a lot of controversy because, whilst while it was thought to be acceptable to speak to the Father ('Father, we love You…'), and also to the Son ('Jesus, we love You…), there were many people who didn't think it was right to speak to the Holy Spirit (and, of course, in the third verse of this song we sing 'Spirit, we love You…') and, even if it were, we certainly shouldn't worship Him ('Spirit, we love You; we worship and adore You…') and we should never ask Him to glorify Himself ('Glorify Your name in all the earth…') because John 16:14 says that the Spirit glorifies the Son. 

And yet, we have the famous doxology, going back to the early days of the church: 'Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.' And that's right, because the Holy Spirit is very God of very God, just as the Son is very God of very God. There is one God, expressed in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So, it's right for us to commune with the Holy Spirit, because He's been given to us to be our Advocate and Helper and Comforter. How can we experience fellowship with the Holy Spirit if we never speak to Him?

We need more of the Holy Spirit in our lives. So, let's pray for ourselves as individuals - that we will keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit, and that we would allow the Holy Spirit to move in us and through us in greater and increasing measure.  And let's pray that all of God's people would receive power for service through the baptism of the Holy Spirit and that they would be continually filled and refreshed by the Spirit. And let's pray for the Holy Spirit to fall afresh on our city and on our nation, that there would be a fresh outpouring of grace and mercy, bringing repentance and revival.

If we want to be sure that this blessing of being filled with the Spirit is for us, we need only to turn to Acts chapter 2 and the sermon that Peter preached to the crowds on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38-39):

38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call."'

Peter also revealed that this blessing of the Spirit fulfils the prophecy of Joel:

Joel 2:28-29 - And it will happen afterward thus: I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your elders will dream dreams; your young men shall see visions. 29And also on the male slaves and on the female slaves, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

We see from this scripture that God does not reserve His Spirit for certain kinds of people. No, His Spirit is poured out on "all flesh", regardless of gender, age, social status or any other kind of distinction. We all need the Holy Spirit in our lives. He will teach us and bring things to our remembrance (John 14:26). He will also empower us to serve God and witness for Him (Acts 1:8). Let's welcome Him into our lives and surrender more of ourselves to Him so that He can flow more freely in and through us, as individuals, as the body of Christ, and also within our city and nation.

Let's not hold back from how the Spirit wants to work in our lives.

Prayer
Holy Spirit, we welcome You among us. Please help us to lay aside everything that would hinder us from fellowshipping with You. Help us to shift our focus from earthly things to heavenly things. Please accomplish a new work of loving grace in our lives today. We ask that You would unreservedly have Your way among us. Impact our lives, and the life of Your church, we pray. Fall afresh on our city and nation. Please melt us, mould us, fill us and use us so that the glory of the Lord might be revealed among us and that His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen!