Unshakable Hope: Building Our Lives On The Promises Of GodSample

You, Will, Have Power If you want to see believers hem, haw, and search for words, just ask, “Who is the Holy Spirit?” Most believers understand the Father and the Son, but they are perplexed about the role of the Holy Spirit in their lives. It’s as if they’ve settled for a two-thirds God. In the Bible, Jesus said more about the Holy Spirit than he did about church or marriage. And as He prepared His followers to face the future without Him, He made this great and precious promise: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1:8). Later, after Jesus ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit did arrive to complete what the Father and the Son had begun. He gave the disciples power to achieve what the Lord called them to do. The Holy Spirit is central to the life of the Christian. He is a life-giving force to the creation and, more significantly, a midwife of new birth for the believer (see John 3:7–8). He enters the believer upon confession of faith (see Ephesians 1:13). His power produces attributes and fruit: “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23). He provides gifts to the believer: wisdom, teaching, healing, prophecy, and preaching, among others. The apostle Paul declared, “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines” (1 Corinthians 12:11). The Holy Spirit distributes gifts according to what the church needs in a particular region and season. When church members play their part, the result is unity. Anytime a church experiences fellowship, the Spirit of God is to be praised. Anytime the church experiences conflict or disunity, the Spirit of God is to be consulted. The Holy Spirit guides and supervises the church to accomplish God’s intended purpose for it. One of these purposes is to make us holy—to cleanse us from sin and set us apart for holy work (see 1 Corinthians 6:11). It’s like washing clothes by rubbing garments on a washboard. The Holy Spirit rubs us until the result is a state of spotlessness. Don’t overlook the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. You need His help, strength, and direction. How do you get this? By keeping “in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). How do you know if you are in step? Here is a clue: look to the fruit of the Spirit. Those emotions are indicators on your spiritual dashboard. Whenever you sense them, you know you are walking in the Spirit. Whenever you lack them, you are out of step with the Spirit. You have access to the same hand that pushed the rock from the tomb. The same power that stirred the still heart of Christ can stir your flagging faith. The same strength that put Satan on his heels can, and will, defeat Satan in your life. So make it your aim to sense, see, and hear the Spirit of God. Fix your heart on the promise of the power of the Holy Spirit. Respond Where do you sense the Holy Spirit’s presence in your life? How have you seen His presence bring transformation in your heart and actions? How can you keep in step with the Holy Spirit? What tension, if any, do you sense between your will and the will of the Spirit in your life? Why is trust in God an integral part of being filled with the Spirit? How are you making yourself available to what God has to offer to you through the power of His Spirit?