The Power of The Holy Spirit

Scripture: Acts 2:38

THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT  

Repent and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Acts 2:38 

Robert Murray McCheyne was a Scottish preacher who received the gift of the Holy Spirit. He desired to see revival in Scotland. God gave him the desires of his heart. He was in Palestine, on a mission of inquiry, when the revival broke out in Dundee, Scotland. Robert McCheyne died very young, at the age of twenty-nine, but he will be remembered for a long time still. Robert considered himself an adoring spectator, God was in control of his actions. He was merely an instrument of God. 

That’s precisely what I want to do today. I want to be an adoring spectator. I want to stand back and watch what the Spirit is doing through God’s children. Just as I am looking at the windmill on my farm turned by a gust of wind, I want to watch what the Holy Spirit does in God’s world. It is awesome. We cannot even comprehend the things that God has got prepared for those who love Him. You received the gift of the Holy Spirit when you repented and became a child of God. Ask His Spirit today and every day to work through you so that you can be a channel of God’s love, mercy and grace to others. You will be an adoring and amazed spectator.  

Dear Lord, fill me today with the power, the dynamite, of Your Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, I welcome You in my life. Inspire me to serve Jesus Christ with all my heart. Amen

Scriptures: Acts 1:8, Acts 19:2, Ephesians 5:18-19

THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8 

When I was a small boy, I was an introvert. I couldn’t even talk to more than two people at a time, and when I saw a girl, I ran away as fast as I could. I weighed about fifty kilograms, had pimples all over my face and knock knees. But this same boy who couldn’t speak to more than two people, the young man who only finished grade ten, is now proclaiming the Good News of Christ to thousands of people. How is that possible? I will tell you what happened. 

I gave my life to Christ and received the gift of the Holy Spirit. God blessed me with His Holy Spirit, and the Spirit changed my life completely. I now have the ability and the opportunity to speak to people all over the world. I have been given the privilege of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to thousands of people. 

On the day of Pentecost, Peter was anointed and filled with the Holy Spirit. At the first sermon he ever preached, three thousand people came to Christ. This is the power we need today, the power of the Holy Spirit working through us, to make a difference for Christ in the world around us. 

The evidence of the Holy Spirit in your life lies in the words and actions that come out of your life. Can people see the power of God’s Spirit in the way you live? 

My Father, thank You for the gift of your Spirit. Holy Spirit, work through me to change the world for Christ. Amen

Scripture: Ephesians 3:16

STRENGTHENED BY THE SPIRIT

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with the power though his Spirit in your inner being. Ephesians 3:16 

Jesus will never allow you to carry more than you are able to. He will never give you a task you cannot do by His power. He will never ask you to go the extra mile if He knows you cannot do it. Sometimes we say, “Lord, this is too difficult. I can’t go through this fiery trial.” 

Then He says, “You can. Just keep going. Out of my glorious riches I will strengthen you with power through my Spirit.” 

Do you remember Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who were put in the fiery furnace, but came out unharmed? Do you remember the fiery trial that Daniel himself experienced? He was put into a den of hungry lions, lions that had been starved, lions that would have torn a person apart in a few minutes and consumed him. King Darius loved Daniel, but Daniel would not bow the knee to  anyone other than the God of the Bible. In fact, he wouldn’t even close the curtains when he was worshipping God. Doesn’t that take courage? That’s a fiery trial. Darius had to put Daniel in the lions’ den, but the lions did not touch Daniel. Think of the early Covenanters who were burnt at the stake for the sake of the Gospel. They sang songs of praise while the flames consumed them. 

God will give you the strength of His Spirit so that you can endure your trials and tribulations and come through them a stronger believer. 

Thank You, Lord Jesus, that You will strengthen me with power through Your Spirit when I go through trials and tribulations. I trust in You. Amen. 

Scriptures: Jude 1:20, Philippians 3:12

PRAY IN THE SPIRIT

But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Jude 1:20 

I like running. I even entered the Comrades Marathon one year, together with fifteen thousand other runners. All our friends and supporters were cheering as we left Pietermaritzburg behind. We were running on clouds. No sweat, no problem. I felt like I could run all day. We ran up Polly Shorts, to the Lion Park and I wasn’t even panting. When I reached Drummond, about the halfway point, the sun was beating down on me. I was in the crowd at the back. It was midday, the crowds were dispersing, a lot of our supporters were either waiting for us in Durban or had gone home. That was the time of the drudgery, the time we needed to persevere to take hold of what waited at the end of that race. 

In our life on earth we also have to persevere. In Philippians 3:12 the apostle Paul says, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Are you weary and tired today? Struggling with that illness? Tired of looking for work? Struggling with financial debt or rebellious children? This is when you need to hold on to your faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. He will give you His power to persevere and take hold of the riches of God. 

Holy Spirit of God, I pray to You today. Give me the strength to endure and persevere. Help me to hold on to my faith so that I can, in the end, take hold of the riches of God. Amen 

Scriptures: Haggai 2:5, Philippians 4:13

DO NOT FEAR

My Spirit remains among you. Do not fear. Haggai 2:5 

The Bible says you can do all things through Christ who gives you the strength and the power (Philippians 4:13). Do you believe that? Or is overwhelming fear still alive in you, crippling you so that you cannot live fully for the Lord? 

Through the prophet Haggai the Lord reminds you today that He gave you His Spirit, and His Spirit will remain with you and in you. You do not have to fear! You can live triumphantly. 

Believe this, my friend, and you will see the difference in your life. I pray today that the Spirit of God will take away all the fear in your life. Then the Lord Jesus Christ will use you in His Kingdom. Remember, God does not only use champions and winners. He also uses the drop-outs, failures and the uneducated in His kingdom. Do you remember Peter, the big fisherman who denied Jesus three times? And the other disciples who followed Jesus, but who ran away and left Him alone? Still the Lord used them to proclaim His good news to all people. God wants to fill you with His Spirit today and free you of all fear. Ask Him to do this for you. Then you will be able to start afresh, as a child of God, filled with the Spirit, free of fear. Remember the Scripture: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17). That’s freedom in Christ 

Father, thank You for taking away my fear. Thank You for Your Spirit who dwells in me and leads me through life. I love You, and I accept Your grace that You offer to me freely. 

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:5-7

CONFIDENT IN FAITH

Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore, we are always confident…We live by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:5-7 

It was a beautiful, cool, drizzly day. We were about to plough and prepare our land for the seed. We had to persevere with the ploughing for the ground was muddy, sticky and the tractor battled because the disks were getting clogged up. But we pressed on, for we knew what was to come – a bountiful crop. We started ploughing and planting although it was hard work. And we had the perseverance to finish our task because we knew that was the deposit on what we would reap in the end, although we could not yet see it. We ploughed and planted in faith.  

Are you persevering in life, my friend? Do you need the power of the Holy Spirit to get through all the trials and tribulations? Do you need the Spirit to remind you of what is to come? You have received the Spirit of God as a deposit, as a guarantee, of what is to come – everlasting life. Ask the Spirit, and He will give you the perseverance and the power to start and finish your race on earth.  

The start of our race is easy. It’s persevering that is the hard part. But God gave us His Spirit to help us finish the race and to receive what He has in store for us. 

Spirit of God, I ask You today to empower me to persevere in my life and to finish the race. Thank You for being the guarantee of what I shall receive – everlasting life. Amen   

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:14

GUARD THE GOOD DEPOSIT

Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you – guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. 2 Timothy 1:14 

On this last day of this devotional, I pray that God will fill you with His Spirit. I pray that you, with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in you, will guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you. You received faith and grace and the gifts and the fruit of the Spirit. Guard it and use it to win others for the kingdom of God. Pray today, “Lord, everything I do I want to do for You. I want to serve You with all my heart, just like Mother Teresa. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit.” 

I want to pray for every person reading this devotional. Many of us are tired and weary. We have not attained much, nor have we been perfected. But I pray that we will press on to lay hold of the crown that Christ Jesus keeps for us in heaven. I pray that He will give us the courage, the strength and the power of the Holy Spirit to live life one day at a time. We cannot always live on top of the mountain; we have to come down to the valley where the people are. We have to be with them to win them for Jesus. I pray that from today onwards our lives will become meaningful. I pray that everything we do, we’ll do for the Lord by the power of His Spirit. 

Lord, everything I do from today onwards I want to do for You. I want to live like Your child. I want to serve You with all my heart. Amen.