Great Is Your Faithfulnessಮಾದರಿ

Faithful to Empower

On Father's Day weekend of 2023, a massive windstorm of history-making proportions hit the greater Tulsa area, just after midnight on June 18. Straight-line winds exceeded 100 mph in the Tulsa area. This was the first time the National Weather Service in Tulsa had issued a warning for winds this high. And the impact was devastating. At the height of the storm, over 204,000 PSO customers were without power.

The "Windstorm of 2023" destroyed homes, severely damaged PSO's power grid, and tore down mature trees throughout the city. Downed power lines and uprooted trees blocked roadways, and the massive clean-up effort following the storm took months, costing $15.7 million in greenwaste removal alone.

What if, in the wake of such tragic devastation, the work crews assigned to tackle the removal of downed trees decided to forego their power tools and stick with their trusty axes and hand saws? The wear-and-tear on the workmen would be exponentially increased and the time to accomplish the urgent tasks would multiply significantly. Their use of the tools powered by fuel, instead, multiplied the effectiveness with which they could provide desperately needed help to the citizens of Tulsa and surrounding communities.

As Jesus was preparing the disciples for His soon return to heaven, He began to teach them about the purpose and power of the third member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. Jesus knew what His disciples were up against in the days ahead. And He knew what, or Who, they would need in order to fulfill His plan without Him being physically on the earth to lead the way. In John 14, verse 12, Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father." (ESV)

Greater works? How would it be possible to do greater works than Jesus Christ?

Skip down to verse 16 of John 14: "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you." (ESV)

The promised Holy Spirit was, per Jesus's words, even better than His physically being with the disciples every single day to guide them. "I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you." (John 16:7 ESV)

The Holy Spirit's primary job is to point to Jesus and His finished work to purchase salvation, provide eternal life, and pay for healing of all who believe and will receive--spirit, soul, mind, and body. But the Holy Spirit was also the empowerment of the Early Church, and is for you and me today, to build the Kingdom of God on this earth until Jesus returns to take us to heaven for eternity.

If you have never experienced the infilling of the Holy Spirit in your life, essentially you are still holding onto that trusty ax when a power saw in within your reach! What could God do in your life if you asked Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit? As you read today's text you'll discover afresh and anew: there's more to be experienced, more at your disposal, as God is faithful to empower His people.

Dig a Little Deeper

When you give your life to Jesus, His Spirit comes to live inside of you. But when you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit comes on you, filling you with the fullness of His power! If desire to learn more about the power-packed second work of grace from the Holy Spirit, consider additional teaching from trusted Bible teacher Rick Renner .