Faith and Power

As a small child I remembered two scriptural truths that concerned me.  The first was Jesus is coming back to earth.  “For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matt. 24: 27).  I couldn’t specify the reference, but I knew Jesus was coming from the sky.  The other related to judgment which would begin with His return.  “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God.  But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God.” (Luke 12: 8-9).

I believed in God and I feared Him and His judgment, because I knew I was not righteous.  I didn’t really have a defined concept of sin because I wasn’t skilled in it, but even so, I knew any goodness within me was insufficient for God’s standard. So I reasoned, He’s coming from the east, perhaps I will have a moment to repent before He arrives.  Moreover, the thought of being disowned by Jesus was a weighty burden; how could I acknowledge Him.  I was just a small child, but the need to publicly side with Jesus was something I understood; nothing seemed so bad as being disowned by Jesus before all of heaven.

I still believed in God and Jesus.  I knew the Bible stories that illustrated God’s mercy to those who obeyed Him and wrath to those who rebelled against Him.  I heard and believed songs like, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.  Little ones to Him belong, they are weak, but He is strong.”  Years later, I made the commitment to be baptized, repented, and confessed Him as Lord and Savior.  That was a joyous day, but in time I concluded that the burden of living a sinless life seemed impossible.  About this time, I remember asking the preacher, “What is the Holy Spirit?”  He replied in passing, “He is a part of the Trinity Godhead.”  I knew that and it meant very little to me.  It was like replying to a query about the President of the United States, “He is a man.”

Scripture describes two encounters with people who were believers, but had not heard about the Holy Spirit, and in both cases they received the Holy Spirit through prayer. (Acts 8: 16-17; Acts 19: 2-6).  Some years later, after becoming far more skilled in sin and no more acquainted with the Holy Spirit, He showed up.  My brother began to share with me what he had discovered, “Christ in us, the hope of glory.”  The Holy Spirit is a gift granted by God to every believer for the purpose of enabling God’s power, love, and presence to be effected in us. (Acts 1: 8; Acts 2: 38; John 14: 26).  This was the message, answer, and person I had unknowingly been searching for, the One who could do something with me.  With seriousness and sincerity, I asked and received the gift of Holy Spirit, his presence was demonstrated within me and a transformation began that united my faith and action.  My concerns as a small child became in me a longing and desire for Yeshua’s triumphant return with the assurance that one day Jesus would acknowledge me before the Angels of God.

If you are a believer and have little or no knowledge of the Holy Spirit or live a powerless works-based faith, ask God to reveal and introduce the Holy Spirit into your heart.  Surrender your head knowledge for a personal Spiritual relationship and give Him place in your heart; say, “Yes, Lord, have your way in me.”  Then, read the Bible as it was written – to you and for you. Join the ongoing spiritual conversation that Father God desires with you through Holy Spirit language and experience transformation by His Spirit.