“This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?”
GALATIANS 3:2, 3
Please note! Our weaknesses do not repel God; they attract Him. We may be hopeless, but the Spirit is God’s gift specifically for the weak, to make up for our feebleness. “He gives power to the faint and to those who have no might, He increases strength” (Isaiah 40:29).
“AMAZING GRACE, HOW SWEET THE SOUND, THAT SAVED A wretch like me.” At Calvary, there was a sound that brought salvation to humanity, and at Pentecost, there was another sound—the sound of a mighty rushing wind. It was the sound of zeal, of love, of the Spirit of God yearning for the embrace of humanity. Fully aware of the weaknesses of fallen humanity, the Holy Spirit came, and He is still here for you. Our sin sent Jesus to the cross, not our righteousness; our weakness brought the Holy Spirit down to us, not our perfection.
Many Christians think that they are not worthy or good enough to receive the Holy Spirit. Yes, it is true that we will never be good enough for the Holy Spirit. But we do not have to be! Indeed, we cannot even hope to be. He is utterly holy. But that is why we need Him, and that is why He comes.
IT IS THE BLOOD OF JESUS. HIS BLOOD ALONE MAKES US worthy, and we are then answered by the power and infilling of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). Christ sends the Spirit upon us—not because we are wonderful Christians, but precisely because we are not! God’s heart is passionate for the salvation of His creatures. He did not make earth’s billions as fuel for the flames of hell or to populate a cold Christ-less eternity. He made them for heaven. He sends the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete or helper, and we are only His servants or His agents. He can do it—He only wants our cooperation.
Our holiness is not the power for signs and wonders. The Holy Spirit is the power. We may be weak and possibly stumbling, but that makes it even more necessary for us to receive the Holy Spirit. He is not given on condition that we are perfect. He is given because we are not perfect. THE BIGGEST FACTOR IS THAT WE NEED HIM. DO YOU NEED HIM?
IF THE LOST CANNOT BE REACHED UNTIL THE CHURCH consists of perfect saints, when will they be reached? To win the lost cannot wait. Bringing them to Jesus will ensure that heaven is full and hell empty. God has made His greatest effort, His greatest sacrifice, for people to be saved, and He did not make it dependent on the extent of our perfection, waiting until we are a walking rule-book. We must seek holiness—and are encouraged by the Bible to do so—but the salvation of souls cannot wait until we reach perfection. God’s plans always included the gift of the Spirit as the power-motive and the power-effects behind the Supreme Commission. There is no way without it.
It does not matter how cold you are spiritually or how far you have wandered from the faith. Like an old battery, there is always a residual charge–once empowered by the Spirit, always empowered. You just must clean up with the Blood of Jesus, and you will be like brand new.
A FRIEND OF MINE WAS CLEANING OUT HIS GARAGE AND tossed a piece of metal aside into what appeared to be a pile of garbage. It caused vivid and audible sparking. Investigation revealed an old car battery. The steel bar had shorted across its terminals. The cells still held some charge, so he brought it out for possible future use. For some, that might be a parable—you’ve given up, and think the power has gone. It never goes. Clear the rubbish out of the way and you will find that the Holy Spirit is not so easily switched off. After ministering under a strong prophetic unction for years, Elisha died, but the anointing remained on his bones. When a young man died and was accidentally thrown into Elisha’s tomb, he came back to life (2 Kings 13:21). There is hope for you yet.
The Holy Spirit’s purpose and focus is making the victories of the cross of Christ real in the believer, the Church and the world. To move in the power of the Holy Spirit, make the cross of Christ your business and salvation your message.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS ABSORBED IN HIS JOB. HE WORKS IN people’s hearts what Jesus worked for us on the cross. You can’t drag Him away from that place and get Him to attend to non—Calvary business. Only on redemption ground is there true spiritual power. Wonders without the cross are not Holy Spirit wonders.