It is Christmas! It is the day that so many of us around the world have marked to celebrate that Love came down to earth, to set us free from the despair in our own sinful lives.
Nothing can minimize the huge blessing that was the arrival of baby Jesus, nor does the amazing significance of his death and resurrection have any equal. Jesus came from on high and was baptized into ministry at the age of thirty. He did only the will of his Father, and all that he did, he did through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Does the Church need the Holy Spirit at Christmas? The Need for God’s Holy Spirit Anointing is evident at this time in our history. The Church needs the Holy Spirit at Christmas and every day.
In Bill Johnson’s book, Dreaming with God, he makes it abundantly clear we need the Holy Spirit to fill us, in order to live the life the LORD has for us. And Geoff Shattock of WorkTalk Weekly says, “your work consists of these same energy consuming characteristics, and you will need the same Spirit to equip you. Please don’t be tempted to believe that you can work in any meaningful way without the sense of the Spirit being upon you, anointing you and sending you” (post date: 8th September, 2014)
For far too long, far too many believers have been walking out their lives in their own strength and power. But we see in God’s word that Jesus was equipped for service through the power of the Holy Spirit:
Isaiah 61 and Luke 4 read:
“The Spirit of the LORD God is upon Me, because He has anointed Me…” (NKJV)
With the call and responsibility as Believers in these times, can we afford to think the Spirit is no longer available, is dormant or is only a connection point at the moment of salvation? No, the Spirit is active in and through you, and is available to the level of your faith, study, and willingness to receive. He is the power and the presence of Father God. He rested upon prophet after prophet in Old Testament times and filled many a believer in the New Testament church. We need him now, in these challenging and surprising times, no less than at any other time in history.
We need an awakening, an activating, an infilling of the Holy Spirit throughout the Body of Christ, as it was with the Apostles, as it was in the New Testament church. We need the Spirit of God actively working in us in order to function effectively for God’s Kingdom in these End Times.
Recently, I moved country, and the process hasn’t been easy. God’s adventures are never dull; there are so many blessings I’ve experienced through the people I’ve met and the challenges I’ve faced since the beginning of the process to move from Canada to Spain. But I have failed many times, particularly as a parent in these last few weeks, and I know I am only as ‘good’ as the Spirit who dwells within me.
How do we receive Holy Spirit’s power? We seek, ask and pray. What do we do to safeguard ourselves from the occult? Know the Word and the fellowship of other believers. How can we trust it is God working in us, rather than Satan? We shall know by the fruit our actions produce. The fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Goodness, Kindness, Gentleness, Patience, Faith and Self-Control (Galatians 5:22-23).
Ready: Seek deep intimacy with the Father. Ask Him for a baptism of His Holy Spirit, because the power of God resides inside you, and is meant for leading, guiding and equipping you in your walk through life.
Set: As you ask in Faith to receive God’s Holy Spirit power, wait. As a Believer, the Spirit is already within you. Ask God to make you abundantly aware of His presence within and around you. Pray for His protection if you feel fearful, and trust He hears your prayer.
Go: Do you recognize your need? Do you experience God meeting you? In the power of the Holy Spirit, follow God’s lead to live, to witness and to minister to others to whom God will lead you.
In subsequent weeks I plan to dig into more depth about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
May this special day marked on the calendar be the beginning of deeper intimacy with the Father and His Son, through the Holy Spirit. Amen.
