“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts1:5,8)
We need the power to be victorious over the challenges we are to face in our journey for 2019. The Holy Spirit has made our Christian lives strong and full of victories. This victorious life turns us into witnesses of Christ.
Our lives are open letters of Christ, read by many people and written by the Spirit of the living God. Our lives bring a message – the news of the gospel that is full of hope. Our lives were not written by dead ink that only speaks about rules of religion and that there is no God living in it. Without experiencing the work of the Holy Spirit, we are weak and defeated. There many believers these days who do not live in the Spirit. They are weak and easily defeated by worldly things.
From the time of Jesus’ resurrection to His ascension, He emphasized to His disciples that they must wait on the Father’s promise – that they are to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Without all of that, God’s Word and Jesus’ teaching they have studied will go in vain. The presence of the Holy Spirit is evident in people’s lives. Peter who was a coward and denied Jesus three times, was changed to a completely different person after He was filled with the Holy Spirit. Peter was able to rise as a witness of Christ and spoke with such power and passion in the day of Pentecost. The impact of Peter’s sermon for the salvation of the Jews, who did want to receive Jesus, was so evident – 3000 people repented and gave themselves to be baptized.
Nowadays, we need the work of the Holy Spirit such as this. Let us pray so that the power of the third Pentecost will be manifested more in the midst of us now. The Holy Spirit works evidently in the midst of people who are thirsty after Him. Therefore, let us have a heart that is always thirsty after the Holy Spirit and build a deeper relationship. A heart that thirsts is a heart that wants to seek after the Lord. It is a choice and decision to throw away and set aside every temptation that feeds our fleshly desires as it shifts our focus away from the Lord.
The world offers entertainment and comfort that give us pleasure. Our flesh wants to be in a comfortable place, enjoying whatever is served by this world. This kind of person will become a person who is confused when seeing those who are passionate and on fire during a service. This is because this person will feel their hearts are empty, unable to feel God’s presence. Therefore, choose the right thing. Choose for your life to be filled with the Holy Spirit, not to live in the flesh.
Experience His overflowing love by living faithfully in His presence. His power will be evident – turning us into witnesses of Christ, our lives will be letters of Christ that will be clearly read by many people. Amen. God bless.
Source: Article from Gatot Subroto, Jakarta