Dear Church,
Let’s continue to seek the Person of the Holy Spirit and be empowered by Him to do the greater things Jesus promised we would do. This past week we looked at receiving power to perform miracles, power to change, and the power to serve.
Jesus performed many miracles. The Apostles performed many miracles. Even people like Stephen and Philip performed many miracles after the Day of Pentecost. I Corinthians 12:10 tells us there is a spiritual gift that enables people to perform miracles. People often ask, “Why don’t we see the kinds of miracles today that we read about in the Bible?”
Just as I have highlighted that miracles flowed in Acts 2 in the context of generosity, I also must point out that miracles flowed in the context of repentance. Acts 2:37 tells us people were “cut to the heart” after hearing Peter preach. They asked him what they should do in response to his Spirit-filled message. Here was what followed:
Acts 2:38-41 38 Peter replied, “REPENT and be baptized, 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.” 40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this CORRUPT generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Repent and Receive. Did you see it? There is a correlation between our repenting and our receiving the working of the Holy Spirit from God. God has me praying about this particular thought: Perhaps the reason we don’t see miracles as often as they did on the Day of Pentecost is because we aren’t willing to repent of sin.
We can also receive Holy Spirit power to change. “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit,” 2 Corinthians 3:18.
When you are filled with the Holy Spirit and yield to the Holy Spirit, you will be transformed.
The disciples were living-proof that change is possible. They went from cowardly to courageous; from powerless to powerful. Because of a Holy Spirit empowering, fisherman, ex-religious leaders, former prostitutes, Jews and Gentiles, skeptics and doubters-all were transformed into a Body of Believers known as the Church! It was the fire of the Spirit that brought about that transformation.
Have you been transformed by the power of Pentecost? Is there evidence in your life to point to the fact that you have been changed? Galatians 5:22-26 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Are these things on display in your life? How loving would your family say you are? How much joy would your friends say you possess? How much peace do you display in the workplace? How much patience do you have with strangers or your own kids? How often has someone thanked you for your kindness? Are good works on display in your life? Could people point to you and say, “He or she is a faithful Christian?”
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Is that true of you? Have you sought to put your sinful nature to death or have you just become skilled at trying to cover your sin?
25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. One way you keep in step with the Spirit is to respond to and cooperate with God every time the Holy Spirit speaks to you. Don’t wait until you get home. Don’t put off dealing with something for a more convenient time. The devil will never make it convenient for you to deal with sin.
26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Are you walking around with a chip on your shoulder? Do you find yourself constantly saying the rules are stupid and you don’t apply to you? Do you look for ways to push people’s buttons and to stir up trouble? Are you constantly jealous of someone else’s relationship or life or position at work? Let me tell you what the Holy Spirit can do for you. The Spirit of God can transform you to the point where your eyes are on Jesus only and what other people do or have or become doesn’t impact how you view yourself.
The Holy Spirit can give us the Power to Serve. Read I Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4, and Romans 12 for lists of spiritual gifts that are given to each of us by the Holy Spirit. One way you demonstrate you have been filled with the Holy Spirit is that you serve the Lord somehow. We aren’t empowered to sit. We are empowered to serve. Just as miracles were flowing in the context of generosity and in the midst of repentance, so too, miracles were flowing in the context of service. There was a lot of Kingdom work going on at Pentecost and in the days after. People were rolling up their sleeves to help one another. So don’t expect to be empowered if your goal is to sit. God empowers and moves in those who are willing to move.
The power to do miracles is the power to change circumstances. The power to change is the power to transform your own life. The power to serve is the power to change other peoples lives.
Each of these comes with an infilling of the Holy Spirit. Will you seek to be filled today and possess the power to…
