The gospel was not sent to earth in mere words, “but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance” (1 Thess. 1:5).
Paul confessed that he did not come with “excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God” (1 Cor. 2:1). He came in weakness, fear, and in much trembling. He said, “My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (vv. 4,5).
The Holy Spirit Causes Us To Speak The Will Of God.
There are many gifted speakers in our world, but have you ever examined their content? Many seem more concerned with their personal experiences than with God’s purposes.
When we listen to the Holy Spirit we won’t be guilty of speaking our own will, but the Lord’s.
You won’t need to rely on yourself when the Holy Spirit is at work. The last words of David, the singer of songs, were these: “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue” (2 Sam. 23:2).
Theologian Donald Guthrie writes of this enabling of the Holy Spirit, “Proclamation which is dependent on the Spirit is seen to be independent of human wisdom. This does not mean that Spirit-endowed preaching is opposed to human wisdom, but that human wisdom is not the source of the message.” 12
Mark 13:11, a special promise for those experiencing persecution, is part of this: “But when they arrest
you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.”
You may know what the Holy Spirit wants you to be, but what does He want you to do? When Saul was blinded by the great light on the road to Damascus, a man by the name of Ananias was led by the Spirit to go to the house where Saul was staying.
Ananias laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 9:17).
Today, the Lord wants you to receive, function, flow, and live in His Spirit. It is not for a spiritual “high” — it is for service. Get ready! The Master is about to return. He will look deeply into your eyes and ask, “What have you done with what I have given you?”
Have your two talents become four? Have your five become ten? Or will He say, “Cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness” (Matt. 25:30)?
Time is running out. God is not interested in filling buildings, He is concerned with filling heaven! And He has chosen to accomplish the task by filling you with His power!
Daniel said that those who “know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits” (Dan. 11:32).
The Lord wants to fill you to hasten the day that the world will be transformed from a place of desolation into a land of beauty (2 Peter 3:12-14). “The wilderness will rejoice and blossom” (Isa. 35:1 Niv). And that is
just the beginning. “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert” (Isa. 35:5-6).
What a mighty visitation! And the Lord wants you to be part of it! When the fullness of God’s anointing fills you, you will feel like the Psalmist when he declared, “Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered” (Ps. 68:1a).
The Holy Spirit offers you the experience of His presence and the appropriation of His power—it’s time to share Him with the world!
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