(also Pt. 2 of The Value of Fundamental Principles)
Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…Well, with a title like that, this message should pack some wallop! And indeed, it does! What I am going to write about is the very power of being a Christian.
God’s salvation plan is perfect! If you read last week’s blog, hopefully you will recall that this was a plan that was created even before the world and Man were created. God knew that we (His proudest creation) were going to go astray, therefore His plan was always to provide a Redeemer to do for us what He knew we were incapable of doing for ourselves. We had from The Fall (when sin entered the world) until 2019 years ago (the coming of Christ) to prove that we were “utterly helpless” to overcome the dilemma of sin. (Ref. Romans 5:6) Therefore, Jesus, in the form of a man, came to be the sacrificial lamb to pay the penalty for our sin with His own blood.
“Why is that important” you might ask? Because God stated in Leviticus 20:26: “You must be holy because I, the Lord, am holy.” In other words, to be His chosen ones, we too have to be holy, which means, “sin free, to be set aside for a sacred purpose.” Therefore, in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven for eternity, we too have to be sin free. If we’re stained with sin, we won’t qualify to get in!
So, what draws most people to Christianity? It is the forgiveness of our sins and the promise of eternal life. No other religion or philosophy in the world can make such a claim. No doubt, that is certainly reason enough to choose Christianity, because being in Christ seals our eternal destiny. But God’s treasure trove of blessings doesn’t end there; it keeps on giving. The truth is, we don’t have to wait until we die to begin experiencing the benefits of His gracious offer. God’s plan also included provision for those in Christ who are still living in this fallen world.
God knows what this world is like; He saw what it did to His Son. He also knows we are no match for our enemy, satan. That is why He gave us the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit to empower us to resist temptation, and to rise above our circumstances, to become the person He created us to be. 2 Corinthians 1:22 tells us, “He has identified us as His own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment of His rich and wonderful promises.” Ephesians 1:14 substantiates that promise: “The Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us everything He promised and that He has purchased us to be His own people. This is just one more reason for us to praise our glorious God!”
After the Last Supper, and before Jesus left for the Garden of Gethsemane, He shared this news with the disciples. “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive Him, because it isn’t looking for Him and doesn’t recognize Him. But you do, because He lives with you now (meaning…its ME!), and later will be IN YOU.” Jesus knew, as did the disciples, that they drew their courage and power from Him to heal the sick and to cast out demons. He wanted them to know that after He was gone, the Holy Spirit would continue to empower them with the same supernatural power to fulfill their mission. Let me give you an example of how that played out.
Just hours after Jesus delivered this message, the Roman soldiers and the Pharisees, led by Judas, arrested Him in the Garden. At that moment, all of the disciples deserted Him and ran for their lives, because they were afraid that they too might be arrested for being His followers. Apostle Peter, later that same evening, denied even knowing Jesus three times; the next day at the crucifixion, only John was there to care for Mary, Jesus’ mother.
Now let’s fast forward seven weeks to Pentecost. During the time between His resurrection and His ascension, Jesus met with His disciples many times, and was seen by more than five hundred witnesses. In one meeting with His disciples, He cautioned them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you what He promised. Remember, I have told you about this before. John baptizes with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit comes into you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1: 4-5, 7-8) In other words, wait until you’re empowered to tackle this mission. Don’t get ahead of this gift by mistakenly trying to do it through your own effort!
On the day of Pentecost, a Jewish holiday celebrating the Feast of Weeks, about a hundred and twenty believers were meeting together when the Holy Spirit descended upon them. They were all empowered by the Holy Spirit and were prepared to begin proclaiming Jesus ’message to the world. But this is the point I wanted to make with the above three paragraphs. Peter, the same Peter who denied Jesus just weeks earlier, stepped outside and addressed a multitude that had gathered. “Each of you must turn from your sin and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2: 38) Peter, empowered and emboldened by the Holy Spirit, did this with such power, courage and conviction that he added three thousand new believers to their fold that day. That, my Dear Readers, is the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
All rolled into one, Superman, Spiderman, and Batman would be totally paled when compared to the Holy Spirit. To drive this point home, the indwelling Holy Spirit that we have in us is the same Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, and the same power that said, “Let there be light!” Take a few minutes and let that sink in. Wow!
As I said earlier, this supernatural power is a gift from God so we can resist temptation, rise above our circumstances, make choices that bring honor and glory to Him, and ultimately become the person He created us to be. In other words, this gift is given to us so we can stay in line with His will for our lives. Let me make two important points right here. This gift is not to be used in any way to promote or exalt self, and the Holy Spirit does not do the work for us, but empowers us to be victorious when we call Him into action.
So, if you are thinking, “how do I do that?”, this is the format. Whether the call is for resisting temptation, rising above your circumstances, or confronting relationship issues, it begins with “Holy Spirit, I want to bring honor and glory to you through my choices, or my actions, or my thoughts. Please give me your wisdom, your courage, your strength, your patience, your perseverance, your eyes to see this situation the way you see it, your ears to hear. Whatever it is that you need to handle these situations in a way that honors God, His Word assures that He will answer that prayer. In fact, James 4:10 reiterates that promise. “When you come humbly before the Lord and admit your dependence on Him, He will lift you up and give you honor.” Every time you begin your call with “Holy Spirit”, you are humbling yourself and admitting your dependence on Him. Nothing pleases God more than YOU bringing that Scripture to life.
God has equipped you, as a Christ-follower, to be victorious in this fallen world. But first you have to know you have that power, and secondly you have to know how to use it. It is all about getting “self” out of the way and allowing the Holy Spirit to work through you. 1 Corinthians 10:13 addresses this situation. “But remember that the temptations (or trials and tribulations) that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation (or a situation), from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.” The way out is relying on the Holy Spirit to give you what you need to be victorious in your battle against the enemy, satan. The same promise the Lord made to Joshua as he prepared to go into Canaan to conquer the land is the same promise that He makes to us today. “Have courage! I will never leave you or forsake you”. (Deuteronomy 31:6)
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May God Bless You abundantly,
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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