One of the most fascinating stories in the Bible is Ezekiel’s account of the valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14). Ezekiel says the hand of the Lord is upon him and the Lord sets Ezekiel in a valley of dry bones. The Lord told Ezekiel to preach to the dry bones and tell them God says, “I will make Spirit enter you, and you will come to life.”
As Ezekiel was preaching to the dry bones there was a noise. There was a rattling sound, and the bones came together. God breathed life into these bones. They stood on their feet a vast army. What was the lesson?
The lesson was the nation of Israel was spiritually dead. God says I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live. God’s Spirit brings life. God’s Spirit will bring life to the lost, the spiritually dead. The Lord can bring life to a dead church and the church could become a powerful church. The lesson is about the power of the Holy Spirit.
In the brief record of Acts that Luke made about the Holy Spirit’s activities in the Antioch church we find out about the power of the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit a church is without power regardless of their membership attendance or budget. Without the Holy Spirit a church is like dry bones. The Holy Spirit made Antioch God’s powerful church.
But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. (Acts 11:20-21)
The power of God was present at the inception of the Antioch church. At Antioch a large number of people repent and believe and experience the new birth. This new birth of regeneration is the work of the Holy Spirit.
When Barnabas arrived, he immediately saw the evidence of the grace of God. Barnabas himself was full of the Holy Spirit. “He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.” (Acts 11:24) I want to come back to this because being full of the Holy Spirit is the source of power.
We need to be full of the Holy Spirit like Barnabas. It was because the Jerusalem church scattered and were Spirit Filled and preached the gospel to Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Because Spirit Filled Christians shared the gospel a great number of people believed in Antioch.
The Holy Spirit spoke and a famine was predicted. And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). This ultimately motivated them to give each according to their own ability to help the brothers in Judea.
It was from this Spirit filled church that the church sending ministry began. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (Acts 13:2) The Holy Spirit sent Paul and Barnabas on their way.
When they began their journey Paul filled with the Holy Spirit confronted a man in the occult. But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? (Acts 13:8-10)
The journey that Paul and Barnabas made was through prayer and fasting and filled with the Holy Spirit. In a short time, maybe eighteen months Paul and Barnabas saw many churches established and appointed elders in every church. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. (Acts 14:23)
The Holy Spirit was guiding when the Jerusalem church leaders were disturbed by what was happening in Antioch where the Holy Spirit was regenerating gentiles. For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.” Acts 15:28-29)
The Holy Spirit is vital to the ministry of the church. The Holy Spirit empowers believers and empowers the church. So, how do we allow the Holy Spirit to empower our lives? This is vital because every Christian is to be a Spirit filled Christian. First you should know that every Christian has the Holy Spirit.
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)
You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. (Romans 8:9)
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, (1 Corinthians 6:19)
If you are a Christian, then you have the Holy Spirit in your life. Another way to look at it is to ask, does the Holy Spirit have you? Are you controlled by the Holy Spirit or by the flesh? What is meant when Paul or Barnabas or anyone else is filled with the Holy Spirit.
To be controlled is a helpful way to look at it. The Holy Spirit is our source of spiritual power and for supernatural ministry. When we sin, we quench the power of the Spirit in our lives. It clogs the spiritual pipes. If sin blocks the flow of spiritual power, what can we do when we sin? We confess our sin agreeing with God that our sin is wrong. We turn from our sin. You might say that our confession and repentance is our spiritual liquid plumber that unclogs the spiritual pipes.
Our confession and repentance allow the spiritual springs of water to well up. We are again giving God control of our lives. This is going to be an ongoing process.
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, (Ephesians 5:18) This is the present participle. We go on being continually filled. You don’t have to wait for a spiritual awakening meeting. You can give God control of your life right now, right where you are. Hold your own spiritual awakening conference every morning.
Paul said, I die every day, (I Corinthians 15:31) Christian the Holy Spirit is in you and will never leave you. Surrender your life and give God full control. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you. Live in the power of the Holy Spirit.
