3rd PersonSample

Before Jesus was crucified, He gave His people the promise of the Holy Spirit. One of the things that the Holy Spirit does is empower us to not only do the things that Jesus did under His name, but also to abide in Him. Jesus explains how this will look for His disciples in John 16:20, explaining that when He is gone, they will experience sorrow, sadness, and grief, but He also explains how that will be turned into joy. They will experience joy through Jesus fulfilling His plan. Through this plan of His death and burial, bringing sorrow and grief, being turned into Joy and excitement through His resurrection, His people will become empowered.

Before Jesus ascends into Heaven, He tells His disciples that the Holy Spirit will fall on them and they will receive the power to be made into His witnesses. The purpose of empowerment is to receive power to be a witness, which is said not as a recommendation, but more of how this is part of being empowered.

Empowerment also produces things in you; these are called the fruits of the Spirit (you can read about them in Galatians 5:22-23). The fruits of the spirit are traits in a person that is guided by the Holy Spirit, that are also a manifestation of the nature of God. The fruits of the spirit promote both inner growth as well as spiritual stability. Because of Jesus, we are not only empowered to have these fruits inside of us, but we can’t do anything to be empowered; we can only abide in Him and let Him produce the things inside of us.

Abiding looks like devotion and consistency with the Lord. This starts off with cultivating a relationship with God, spending time with Him in secret, reading the Bible, praying, and journaling. These are all good ways to stay in tune with your thoughts and how they line up with what God says. Additionally, putting things into practice helps you grow in the things that you have been empowered to do. By practicing prayer, you become more familiar with God’s voice so you can be used to encourage His people. Spending time reading and listening allows you to know His word and be able to teach it to others who may not know or simply answer questions from others. This week, be encouraged to set aside a consistent time to be with Jesus, slow your mind, and abide in Him. Let Him reveal Himself to you, bring peace to your mind, and create a practice of abiding with Him.