The Seven Benefits To A Spirit-Empowered Church

THE SEVEN BENEFITS TO A SPIRIT EMPOWERED CHURCH

JOHN 7:37-39; EZEKIEL 47

By Dr. James O. Davis

Do you want to have an average church or a normal church? By and large, the average church we find today, the normal church we find in the Word of God. Let me ask you a couple more questions. Do you want to be a container or do you want to be a channel? Do you want your church to be a reservoir or do you want your church to be a river? How you answer these questions is going to determine your future. At the upcoming Synergize 2016 Pastors & Leaders Conference, we will be focusing more on the spiritual dimensions of ministry than ever before.

One morning Jesus Christ stood in the middle of a religious crowd as a ceremony was coming to a close. The priest had just taken a pitcher filled with water, and he poured it upon the altar symbolizing salva- Aon. The people have danced and they have shouted and now they’re making their way home. And Je- sus cries aloud and he says, “If any man is thirsty, let him come unto me and drink and he that believes in me as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” Jesus knew that on the next day that the people would have a memory but they would not have reality. So Jesus Christ cries aloud to try to get the attention of that religious crowd.

Do you know what Jesus Christ was trying to say then? Do you know what Jesus Christ is trying to say today? He was simply trying to say stop enduring religion and start enjoying revival. God is sending revival to this world and God is looking for pastors and leaders who want to be a part of this last-day revival.

We Need To Realize The Secret To Spirit Empowerment

What is the secret to an outpouring of the Holy Spirit? You know, a lot of people say you’ve got to have a ten-step plan. It is the church that makes it complicated. Jesus Christ keeps in simple. What is the secret to revival in our heart, home and harvest? The answer is thirst. In fact, He was talking here about the rivers of the Holy Spirit flowing through our lives.

I do not know how much of God we have, but we got just as much of God as we want. We determine our level of victory every day. Jesus is looking for thirsty churches. Did you know a shallow thirst produces a shallow satisfaction? There is a difference between thirstiness and emptiness. My automobile has been “on empty” many Ames, but it has never been thirsty one time. I have purchased gas not for a “thirsty tank” but an empty gas tank.

If we going to Spirit-empowered churches, we’ve got to get to the place where we don’t just focus on our emptiness but we begin to focus on our thirstiness. We begin to say, “Lord, we are thirsty and we want to be filled with the power of the Spirit of God.” I do not know how much of God we have, but we are where you want to be.

We Need To Recognize The Source Of Spirit Empowerment

What is the source of the Spirit-empowered church? Some people have the idea we’ve got to a place. Some people have the idea you’ve got to get to a particular preacher or leader. What is the source of genuine revival? Jesus answered it. He said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come unto me.” Jesus Christ is the source. Jesus has always been the source. Holiness is not the way to Christ. Christ is the way to holiness. Revival is not the way to Christ. Christ is the way to revival. Jesus Christ is the source. He’s al-ways been the source and He’ll always be the source.

Jesus gave everyone of us an invitation. He said if you’re thirsty, come. That means we’ve got to respond. He didn’t say if you’re thirsty, sit. He said if you’re thirsty, come. Jesus said, if you’re thirsty, come; and drink. How do we drink? We drink by faith. How do we drink by faith? Jesus said, “and he that believes in me.” do you believe? You believe by faith. So you come to the Lord Jesus Christ and you drink by faith.

It is possible for us to become so thirsty that every nerve in our body cries out for something to drink. Physicians tell us that you can get so thirsty that every thought in your mind cries out, screams out for something to drink.

Imagine yourself in the Mojave Desert. Last year, the Mojave Desert set new records temperatures ever recorded in the world. Imagine yourself in the Mojave. You’ve been there for just over two days; and you haven’t had a drop of water; and you are walking along this dirty, dusty path trying to find help. You are desperately thirsty. Every nerve cries out for something to drink. Every thought thinks about a cold glass of ice water. You’re so thirsty, desperately thirsty. You make your way around a curve; and as you do, you see a man standing there along the roadside, and he’s holding in his hand a pitcher filled with ice water. It’s one of those see-through pitchers. You can see the ice cubes floating inside. You know it’s cold water because there’s water condensation on the outside and it’s dripping off the bottom.