Focus: The Precious Holy Spirit!

Text: Mic.3:8

"But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin."

The Word of God sanctifies us. The Blood of Christ saves us. The Name of God secures us. The Spirit of God strengthens us.

The Christian faith is born of the Spirit. The Christian church started on the day of Pentecost, and the believer in Christ is born of the Spirit. Jesus Christ says to the disciples, "Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high" (Lk.24:49). The Spirit came with all the power of God on the day of Pentecost. Being filled with and possessing the Spirit means having power. The disciples were filled with the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and that means being in possession of the supernatural power of God. 

Christ says to them, "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me…" (Act.1:8). When the Spirit comes, power comes. The Spirit is known for power. Micah the prophet makes bold to say, "Truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin." Whenever power is missing in the church, know it that the Spirit is missing. The absence of power is the absence of the Spirit. The Spirit can be in us and with us, and still be missing. To have power we must seek God for His Spirit.

We bear witness to Christ by the Spirit's power. We do the "greater works" that Christ talked about, by the power of the Spirit. We fulfill our supernatural roles on earth by the supernatural strength of God. We work miracles by the Spirit's power.

When the church prayed for spiritual boldness and miraculous power in Acts.4, Luke tells us that "when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness." They prayed for boldness and God gave them the Spirit, and with the Spirit they declared the Word of God with boldness and worked miracles in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our Christian religion is a religion of supernatural power, and that power is generated by the Spirit of God. Paul says, "For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power" (1Cor.4:20). 

The kingdom of God is much more than saying things; it is doing things with the energy of the Holy Spirit. It is more than a declaration of words; it is a demonstration of the Spirit's power.

Our triune God is the God of all power. The Scripture refers to "the power of God," "the power of Christ," and "the power of the Holy Spirit." So the Trinity is associated with power. God's people need God's power to function in God's world. Man can neither survive nor succeed in this world without some form of power, and for the people of God, all we need is the Spirit's power. We read in the Word of God, "This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts" (Zech.4:6).

If we truly seek the Spirit's presence and influence, we shall discover and recover it. Isaiah says, "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength" (Isa.40:29). You and I need the power of the Spirit in our lives. After the temptation of Christ, Luke reports that he "returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee…" (Lk.4:14). He was physically and mentally exhausted and weak, but spiritually filled with power. 

In Acts we read of "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him" (Act.10:38). Concerning himself, Paul says, "Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ" (Rom.15:19). 

He says, "And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (1Cor.2:4). Again he says, "For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost…" (1Thes.1:5). 

O yes, demons are not cast out through oratory but by the power of the Holy Spirit. The precious Spirit of God enlivens, emboldens and strengthens us. Apart from the Spirit, we can do nothing, and our preaching is powerless. God has given us the Spirit of power. Seek and experience Him for yourself! The power of God flows from Him.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter