Hopefully, you have had the opporunity to comtemplate and arise at a response to the questions presented in Part 1. I would like to suggest it could be a combination of all three (3) reasons as to why we are not seeing and experiencing a greater demonstration of the Holy Spirit in our lives and enviromment. We learned in part 1, that the Holy Spirit is the 3rd person of the Trinity and He indwells every born again believer at salavation. Let’s take a closer look at Ephesians 1:13, Paul states:
In whom ye also trusted, after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
You are locked in Christ and Christ is locked in you the moment you invite Him into your life. Jesus promised His disciples and future disciples ( you and I) that the Father would send us the Comforter that will abide with us forever ( John 14: 14-31). As a believer, you are sealed with the Holy Spirit that was promised by God in the book of Joel , whereby God said:
Joel 2:28: And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh….It is important that as a believer, that you understand this spiritual truth ( If you truly accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior) you have the Holy Spirit. You do not have to wait on Him, you do not have to beg for Him, you have Him. The challenge for many, is how much of you are you willing to give the Holy Spirit. In other words, are you ready to toally surrender your ways, your will, your thouthts to the Holy Spirit influence? Many confuse being sealed with the Holy Spirit with being filled or full of the Holy Spirit. A person can have may fillings of the Holy Spirit, based on ones intimacy/ fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Paul makes this clear for us in Ephesiians 5:18: And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit… We need to continually be immersed in God’s presence and as a result, we will constantly be filled with His Holy Spirit and those around us will receive the overflow! This filling and overflowing was clearly demonstrated with the 1st century believers; in the book of ACTS and we saw the end reults, God working miraculously signs and wonders through the believers.
The 1st century believers understood the importance of being immersed in the Presence of the Lord. They understood that it would have been impossible to be victorious and destroy the works of the devil without the Holy Spirit. In essence, they quickly learned how to cultivate and deepen their relationship with God and they done this by giving themselves over to much prayer, fellowshiping and following the teachings of the apostles. Saints, it is time that we begin to live out the realities of Acts 1:8 and walk in the power and authority that has been poured out upon and in us. When the Holy Spirit was poured out in the book of Acts, the believers were filled, their entire being were diffused with the Holy Spirit. They were given power to be bold effective witnessess for Christ in their local communities and to the ends of the earth. God may not send you to the ends of the earth, He may not send you out of your state or city, but where ever He has placed you, that is where He desires to use you to be that witness unto Christ. The Holy Spirit plays a vital and critical role in empowering believers to advance God’s Kingdom on Earth. Therefore, where ever you are positioned today, you have been empowered to be a transformative and dynamic influence.
The Holy Spirit empower us for the great mission to evangelize, make disciples and destroy the power of darkness. When you witness to someone, it is the Holy Spirit that will begin the work in their hearts to convict them of sin and draw them to faith in Jesus Christ. This is the initial and foundational work for entering God’s Kingdom, thus advancing God’s Kingdom on earth. Bringing a soul to salavation is the greatest miracle, seeing God translate souls out of darkness into His marvelous light is definitely destroying the powers of darkness. The Holy Spirit empowers us to advance God’s Kingdom on Earth by providing us strength, guidance, wisdom, boldness and power to live out our faith and represent Christ to a dying declining world. God’s divine power has granted to us all things that pertain unto life and godliness.. (2 Peter 1:3).
Spiritual gifts are imparted to believers by the Spirit to equip us for service, growth and the advancement of God’s Kingdom. Everyone does not receive the same gifts or have the same calling. However, remain confident that what ever God has called you to do, He has equipped you for the assignment. It is important that you rely on the Holy Spirit for direction, guidance and wisdom for every course of action. Always, remember, that it is not about “you” or me”, it is always about God and advancing His Kingdom on Earth and the Holy Spirit empowers us in multifaceted ways, influencing our inner lives ( if we allow Him) equipping us for service, guiding our actions and fostering a dynamic relationship with our Awesome God! We cannot do the work God has called us to do without the Holy Spirit! Friend, I encourage you to bodly and joyfully partner with the Holy Spirit and turn this world upside down, inside out for Jesus!
If you have not yet, accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I invite you to confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, repent of your sins and place your faith in Him ( Romans 10-9:10). We are all in need of a Savior and God sent us Jesus and Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to empower us to live a victorious life , pleasing to God on Earth!
Stay Bless and keep Christ first!
