You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight (Acts 1:8 – 9).
Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you (John 16:7).
The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. (Romans 8:11 NLT).
Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? (Gal. 3:3).
I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses … For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Cor. 12:9 – 10).
Perhaps the most prevalent symptom of the Fan Christian is the determination to “do it on our own.” Even if we can accept that salvation is a gift from God, we can’t accept that the follow up is not up to us. While it is true that we must commit to Jesus and remain true to that commitment. The work of our sanctification and the good works that are to be done through us are all powered by the Holy Spirit.
The process of following begins with the recognition that we are weak and unable to be all that we are called to be on our own. It is God’s purpose to show His Power by working through our weaknesses. When we try to “tough it out” or “do it on our own” we defeat the purposes of God.
We tend to accept special “moves” of the Spirit. We can recognize His work in miracles, in words of knowledge, healing, speaking in tongues, etc. What seems harder to accept is that we need His power to accomplish the day-to-day tasks we are called to do. God’s plan is to work through His followers to demonstrate His love through our actions, to touch a hurting world through our hands, to take His Good News to a world carried on our feet.
If we empty ourselves, we allow the Spirit to enter and to power us to greater works.
Be blessed.
Nick
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