Power of the Holy Spirit
What does the power of God's Holy Spirit look like today in my life?
This is the question that was posed for Open Discussion during the services at my church this past weekend. The sermon notes, and hopefully an MP3 link, are available here. The point is, how is God's power demonstrated in our lives? More than that, how is the power of the Holy Spirit demonstrated in our lives? It's a question of apathy and it's a question of accepting less than what God has for us.
In Acts 1:8, it says that "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."
So what's my answer to the first question? I would say that I do have boldness in terms of proclaiming my faith in God that does not seem to be very common among other Christians at work or elsewhere, and that's despite the fact that I'm an introvert. That would match the above verse, I think. More concretely, I do pray in tongues fairly often. While that's the most clear demonstration of the Holy Spirit, it's also private since I rarely pray in tongues while praying for other people.
Beyond that, which gifts of the Spirit are in my life, as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1? I can't say that I see any of those miraculous gifts regularly in my life, though I have had some of them once in a while.
So I don't see much of the Holy Spirit's power demonstrated in my life directly and obviously. That's not an eye opener for me since I am passionate about my faith and I do want more of God's power, so I am aware and I am dissatisfied. Apathy is not such a big factor for me even though that was the main challenge of the sermon this past weekend.
The part that hit me is this: If the power of God is not demonstrated in my life, why would anyone else believe me when I say that we all need it? In the past, I have tried to speak, study and pray with friends about the baptism of the Holy Spirit and about spiritual gifts. I've usually been met with a great degree of skepticism, doubts and criticism. That, or a polite refusal and a preference to live and let live, so to speak. (This point is addressed in the "Struggles" section of those sermon notes: Historically, people will idolize, analyze, criticize or ostracize the power of the Spirit.)
And why wouldn't people respond that way? If I'm the one encouraging people to pursue baptism of the Holy Spirit but I don't seem much different from my other Christian friends, what's the point? What does it matter? It can't be very powerful if it's not evident, right?
Ouch, the question broke me down a bit. I guess it's like telling people about Jesus' love and sacrifice for us and the forgiveness of our sins. Why would non-Christians be attracted to God if our lives seem about the same as theirs? If we're not truly happier, if we're not free from hurts of the past, if we're not filled with passion and purpose?
I need to see more of God's power in my life. I need more of the Holy Spirit to be shown through me. Not for my sake, but for the sake of my friends. For the sake of both my Christian friends and my other friends. It's God that breaks through into people's live, not my nice words and not a merely adequate but well-meaning life.
I need more of you, God. I need more of you, Holy Spirit. More of you in my life.
5 comments:
Well, here's my two cents (or two pesos, since I'm currently in Mexico). Just to preface, I'm right now visiting missionary friends here in a violent state in Mexico, and this couple certainly have all the power gifts that many of us would like to see God working in our own lives. So, once we're born again and baptised in the H.S., what does it take to see His power at work in us habitually and continuallly? Let me make one simple suggestion -Utter dependence on Him- If you live that way, I'm pretty sure you will see change.
Thank you!! I really appreciate this comment. It's so easy to get lost in the mumbo jumbo of theological debates so I always like to get practical. It's nice to know that there are real people experiencing and showing God's power like this, in a way that really matters.
Utter dependence. That's definitely not where I'm at. That's definitely where I need to be.
I don't have anything to add, but your posts are immensely thought provoking.
The power of God's Holy Spirit, in the lives of those who follow Jesus, looks like weakness.
It is the precisely because we are empowered by the Spirit of God that we are able to live a cross-shaped life that shares in the weakness of Christ. This is a point that I emphasize a great deal in my "Becoming the Father through a Spirit-Empowered Cruciformity" blog series (which starts in July of 2006; cf. esp. "Part X"). The primary way in which the power of the Spirit is revealed in the lives of Christians is in their (triumphant) suffering, weakness, and humility.
Furthermore, I really must continue to emphasize that the notion of the "baptism of the Holy Spirit," if taken to be be an event separate from one's conversion to Christianity, is a completely misguided idea. Certainly the Spirit can move within and among us in new and fresh ways, but all who are Christians have received the Spirit.
Thank you, Dan. I assumed that you would reply with an emphasis on weakness, particularly since I threw around the word "power" so much. I considered re-writing part of my post to accomodate that aspect, actually, but that wasn't my emphasis in this post.
Jesus was certainly a good example of "triumphant suffering, weakness and humility." He was also a good example of the tangible power of God. I'm guessing that Andrea's friends in Mexico have both of these parts in practice.
To be practical, you certainly live the suffering part of what you preach, walking with those that suffer. Do you see gifts of the Spirit in your life and miracles?
And yes, I realize that you disagree with baptism of the Holy Spirit as a separate event from salvation. We have had that discussion before. As I said in my post, plenty of people have disagreed with me for various reasons in this matter. My concern is that words go round and round but practical evidence is the thing that I'm looking for. And if I don't have it, why would anyone listen to me?
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