WE’VE GOT THE POWER
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
PRAY effectively and with authority
There are many times that situations will present themselves to us and we do not know how we should pray; and with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit we are able to pray effectively (Romans 8:26)
Our prayer language is our way of praying directly to God without any interference or interruption from the enemy or those around us.
The Holy Spirit will always only pray in accordance with the will of God – He never has His own agenda. Romans 8:27
Just as Jesus Christ is ever interceding for us in Heaven, the Holy Spirit is interceding through us here on earth to see God’s will accomplished.
OVERCOME temptation and the powers of darkness
Jesus entered into the wilderness in the fullness of the Spirit and was tempted by Satan himself, but was able to overcome and come out victorious.
Jesus left the wilderness in the power of the Spirit because the more we are victorious in our lives the more of God’s Spirit He bestows upon us.
Paul instructed Timothy to stand firm because he had not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).
A young man was in a parking lot just shortly after being saved and he found a pack of cigarettes lying unopened on the ground near his car. His first thought was to keep them and smoke them as he had always done, but he felt prompted to do something different. He picked them up, crushed the pack and threw them into the dumpster. At that point, he heard God speak to his heart that if he would continue to treat temptation and sin in the same manner that God would use him in a great and powerful way. Many of you may recognize the young man today as Evangelist Steve Hill who spent over 5 years preaching each night of the Brownsville Revival in Pensacola, Florida.
WITNESS boldly and clearly
The disciples were threatened to the point of death if they would not stop preaching and teaching about Jesus. But, with the Holy Spirit in their hearts and lives they were able to take a bold and powerful stand.
Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus. After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. Acts 4:29-31
Joe Oden has a unique approach in the way he witnesses.
God is not calling or asking us to mirror anyone else’s approach. Holy Spirit empowers us to minister out of our own personality. Our only job is obedience.
EDIFY your spirit and exalt God
How many times have you felt empty or down in your spirit and began to pray in the Holy Ghost and felt yourself come alive?
But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Jude 20
Praying in the Spirit will inspire, guide, energize, sustain, and help us to do battle in our prayer life.
The time is short and the days are evil and we must have the help of God’s Spirit in our lives.
Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Ephesians 5:15-18
Being filled with the Spirit each and every day of our lives is a wise decision and is the will of God Himself!!!
RELEASES you into God’s fullness
Someone once asked Leonard Ravenhill why it was necessary to be filled with the Holy Ghost. His answer was simple. He asked the man one question: “Have you ever seen a baby come out of its mother’s womb fully dressed?” As the man paused, Ravenhill told him that the Holy Spirit is the clothing that the born again Christian needs in the same way to protect and cover us from the world.
I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. Luke 24:49
Some will try to tell you that tongues and the gifts of the Spirit were only available to the early church and ceased with the book of Acts. My question to that is simple: If God felt the church needed the fullness of His Spirit in the beginning stages of the church, then why would He not believe the church would need the fullness of His Spirit throughout the entire age of the church?
God promises in Ecclesiastes that the ending of a thing is better than the beginning thereof and if the disciples had God’s Spirit then God’s Spirit is here for us today in an even greater way.
God is giving us an opportunity today to receive the gift of His Spirit. It is free and it is for you and it is the opportunity of a lifetime. Your life and your relationship with God will never be the same. I say to you as Leonard Ravenhill said years ago,
“The opportunity of a lifetime must be seized during the lifetime of the opportunity.”
