Monday, August 31, 2015

Power From On High Part 1

This is the first part of a series about the Holy Spirit, to help us understand how to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Adam and Eve in the garden had the Spirit living in them, but once the fall occurred, a separation took place so that man could not house the Holy Spirit.  Now, the blood of Jesus has made us pure before God, so that because of Christ in us, we can have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.  The Holy Spirit gives us power and authority to equip us to do the assignment God has given us.

Today, we looked at the coming of the Holy Spirit.  When Jesus went to the cross He:
1) Gave us salvation, restored us in our relationship with God.
2) Allowed us to have the Spirit of God dwell inside us.

We went to Joel 2:25 and following.  This shows how the things that were being destroyed because of sin would be restored because of Jesus.  God doesn't only restore what we lost, but He restores more (see Job).  Joel also talks about how God truly satisfies our hunger and is the only one who can. Verse 28 then alludes to what happens after the Holy Spirit comes.  We then looked at Acts 1 and 2, the account of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  This exemplifies one of the elements that put us in an environment where the Holy Spirit's power can flow: unity.  The disciples were in unity, and then the Spirit fell upon them.  Unity is not complete agreement, but a choice to be unified despite whether we agree or not.  Without this kind of unity, we miss a lot of the power that God can display in us through the Spirit. 

This is the foundation for the messages in the coming weeks.