WEEK 3 - SPIRIT EMPOWERMENT/FULLNESS
Having now turned from things that were grieving and quenching the Spirit, in this week we prayerfully welcome His fullness and power. May there be a sense of hunger and holy desperation as we pray for a fresh outpouring and infilling of the Holy Spirit on our lives and in our churches. Come, Holy Spirit!
DAY TWENTY-ONE - THE SPIRIT’S POWER FOR MINISTRY BY JONATHAN SCHAEFFER
John 14:23
Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
The Bible is full of amazing promises. Have we considered how many of those are conditional? God forgives us . . . when we confess our sins to Him (see 1 John 1:9). He blesses us . . . when we honor our parents (see Ephesians 6:1–3). God guides us . . . when we acknowledge Him in all our ways (Proverbs 3:5–6). There is something God asks of us.
The same is true if we want to experience daily the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus tells His followers, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (Jn. 14:23). This is one of the most remarkable promises in the Bible—He actually comes to live in us. What’s the condition for experiencing that most fully? Obedience to Jesus’ teaching. Peter puts it this way: “We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him” (Acts 5:32).
The Spirit is a gift from the Father, received by grace. There is a sense in which He has freedom to influence us, empower us, and work in our lives—when we obey Him. We surrender, boldly follow, and relinquish anything that displeases Jesus. We could say it this way: Our level of obedience determines our level of blessability. This kind of obedience isn’t mere religious duty. Jesus says we want to please Him because we love Him.
Do you want Him to work powerfully in you and through you? By His grace and power, commit today to obey Jesus in every area of your life.
PRAYER POINTS:
1. Lord, thank You for keeping Your promises to actually take up residence in me.
2. I confess anything that threatens my relationship with You. Cleanse me so You are completely at home in my life.
3. Empower me to walk in obedience to You so I can be fully “blessable” and serve as Your instrument wherever and however You want to use me today.