“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”
JOHN 14:12-14
There is a finger on you, but it is not a finger of destruction. It is the Finger of God, pointed directly at you to bless you, distinguish you and empower you for His service–to heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out devils! The finger of God is the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:38). He delivers you from every power of darkness and releases God’s goodness in your life.
ISRAEL’S BLESSINGS ARE COVENANTED TO THE “COMMONWEALTH of Israel” (Ephesians 2:12). Christ Jesus linked wonders to the new Christian Commonwealth: “If I cast out demons by the finger of God, surely the Kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20). There is no power greater than that of the Holy Spirit. It is Kingdom power, and no other power matches it. By the Spirit, He distributes His ministries to whom He chooses.
Jesus said, “Behold, a greater than Solomon is here” (Matthew 1 2:42 KJV), “Before Abraham was, I Am” (John 8:58), and concerning John the Baptist, “If you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come” (Matthew 11:1 4). It is important to realize that you have received a mantle far superior to Elijah’s–Jesus’ mantle, the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
IT IS NOT UNCOMMON IN PENTECOSTAL-CHARISMATIC CIRCLES to hear people praying for Elijah’s mantle: the power to call down fire and work miracles, signs and wonders as Elijah did. However, Jesus makes it clear, “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:17, 18). Need we pray for Elijah’s mantle? No, I don’t believe so. Jesus gives us His mantle, the baptism in the Holy Spirit. All we must do is believe and walk in it, and signs and wonders will follow.
The Lord God is not only “in our midst,” but He is within us. His absence is unthinkable. He does not have to be sought, fasted and clamored for, or “claimed.” His presence is essential to the very nature of the Christian faith.
THE PROPHETS PREDICTED IT, BUT THEY THEMSELVES NEVER knew it. The last of the prophets, John the Baptist, said, “I baptize you with water . . . but He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11). As part of the redemptive package, New Testament believers enjoy a new depth of Divine intimacy. Beyond fellowshipping with God, He is within us, in each and every individual saved by His grace (John 14:17). We don’t have to earn it; His love guarantees it. If we are born again, cleansed by the blood of the Lamb of God from our sins, there is nothing we need to do about His presence; He is already there anyway and always! That is the glory of our faith.
God is near night and day. If He waits in church while we get on with life, how then would He save us and be our strength? Pagans go to the shrines of their gods, but Christ is with us always. He is with me now, as I write at this desk, as well as when I am preaching in crusades. We vary, but He does not (James 1:17). Opportunity does not dictate to Him. He has no moods and is not manipulated by our moods. He doesn’t come and go, chased back and forth by our attitudes. We are temperamental, but He is forever the same.
GOD DOESN’T JUST TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CHANCE moment when we are in a spiritual frame of mind. Wherever we are, He is there—even when we are asleep and unconscious of His nearness. Psalm 4:8 declares, “I will both lie down in peace and sleep; for You, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” We can “dwell” in safety because He “dwells” with us. Christ said “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).