The Sunday News
GREETINGS beloved nation in the name of Jesus Christ. Acts 1:8, “but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
In these last days, we are living in, as I mentioned in the article I wrote last week, we need the restoration of the power of the spirit of God in the church, in order for the gospel to be fully preached. It’s so sad if in the church we speak about the power of the living God and that power is not seen in us and it’s not demonstrated.
This is mostly because we have ignored the power of the spirit of God as individuals and as a body of Christ. Ladies and gentlemen, we cannot continue to ignore the Holy Spirit if we want to see results in our lives, in our families and in our ministries, in our communities. In this end time we are living in, we cannot make it without the Holy Spirit if we are to fully preach the gospel before the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. If we are to fully preach the gospel, it is the manifestation of the power of God, commanding strange results in the lives of the saints that will compel the heathen and anyone around to know that there is a God, that God in the midst of His people, that he is not only present, but he is indeed mighty.
One thing I have realised is that many believers know how to pray, to fast, to read the word of God, but they do not have a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. In fact many believers do not have an understanding about (i) the person of the Holy Spirit and (ii) the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Understanding the person and the ministry of the Holy Spirit and how to relate with the Holy Spirit is very important for us to fulfil our God given mandate here on earth.
There are some things that we need to understand as believers about creating a relationship with the Holy Spirit: (a)Intimacy with the Holy Spirit. Every relationship requires communication, and intimacy grows when we have special times together. Spending time and communicating with the Holy Spirit will lead to greater intimacy. It is good to be doing ministry work and church programmes, but once we neglect having an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit, we will not be able to fully preach the gospel.
(b) Brokenness. The Holy Spirit only relates with people from a standpoint of brokenness and contriteness. You never truly walk with the Holy Spirit until you are willing to be broken, not just broken once, but ever broken. Brokenness in your daily life. Nothing attracts the spirit of the Lord more like brokenness and contriteness in the life of a person.
(c )Obedience to the voice and instructions of the Holy Spirit. Without obedience there cannot be intimacy with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is an extension of the will of the father, through Christ and it is the Holy Spirit who reveals the mind of the God to us. 1 Corinthians 2:10-11 says “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.”
Understanding the ministry of the Holy Spirit is also important in the life a believer. First and foremost the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin, shows us that none of us can live up to the righteousness of Jesus, and reveals to us the judgment that is coming to those who die without a Savior (John 16:8-11). As we repent, confess our sins and receive the gift of Salvation the Holy Spirit regenerates our dead
inner human spirit which now becomes sensitive to the spiritual things of God (John 3:1-16; Acts 2:38). The ministry of the Holy Spirit involves many other important aspects, but I want to focus on one such aspect, the power of the spirit of God. Like I mentioned last week, we need the power of the spirit of God to be manifested in our lives in these ends times. The bible tells us in Luke 24:49 that, “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city [a]of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” Jesus was talking to his disciples about the promise of the Holy Spirit, that they should tarry in Jerusalem until they are endued with the Holy Spirit, other versions say clothed with the Holy Spirit. So meaning the disciples needed to be clothed with the power of the Holy Spirit so that they could accomplish the greater works according to John 14:11, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”
Acts 1:8 says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the
ends of the earth.” To effectively preach the gospel the disciples needed the power of the Holy Spirit, and so do we as believers. Zecharia 4:6 says, it is not by might nor by power but by the spirit of the lord. We cannot do anything with our own strength but by the power of the spirit of God.
The bible tells us in Acts 10:38 that, “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him”. Jesus had to be anointed with Holy Spirit and with power to carry out his ministry, what more of us as believers. In Luke 10:19 the bible says, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
We too have been given the power to do the works that Jesus did, greater works. But without the power of Holy Spirit we cannot do the greater works and without a relationship with the Holy Spirit, we cannot manifest this power and fully preach the gospel in all four corners of the world. I would like to invite you to receive Jesus as your personal Lord and saviour, by believing in your heart and confessing with your mouth that he is your Lord and saviour, and you shall be saved.
May God bless you all. Amen
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