Experiencing the Spirit: The Power of Pentecost Every Day

INTRODUCTION

GOD'S EXCLAMATION

POINT

Jesus stood and cried out, saying, if anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

—JOHN 7:37-39

When it comes to the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer's life, few topics have been so popular and so neglected at the same time. It's a popular topic because people want power; they want to experience something of the divine in their life, something beyond their normal human experience, and the Holy Spirit seems to be the easy ticket. And whereas Jesus is clearly established in his authoritative role as Lord, there's a misconception that the Spirit can be readily manipulated. Because He's called the Comforter, Helper, or Counselor, many Christians assume that the Spirit's purpose is to be our servant and help us enjoy abundant life. But that view is fundamentally inadequate. Jesus sent the Spirit not for us, but for Him— to carry out His rule and authority in our lives.

Too often, we fall into a self-centered approach to our walk with God that emphasizes what we get out of it, what we can experience if we're filled with the Spirit. We neglect the biblical teaching that clearly describes the Spirit's role in our lives and what God wants us to experience. But when we finally understand our relationship with the Holy Spirit, we'll then truly experience a transformed life in step with the purposes of God.

THE PINNACLE OF CHRIST'S WORK

As we consider the impact of Pentecost and the gift of the Holy Spirit to everyone who believes, we must first keep this topic in context. Think of Christ's work in three distinct yet unified stages: the Cross, the Resurrection, and the gift of Pentecost. All three are significant in their own way but must be understood together as a unified whole. At the Cross, the power of sin and its consequences were dealt a deathblow. Whereas sin once had power over us, now we've been given power over sin. As Paul said, The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18). There should be no proliferation of sin among God's people, for in the Cross we've been given victory over sin.

Why then do God's people still live in sin? There are several reasons, but two stand out above the rest.

First, it's their choice. They've become content to live without the manifest power of God in their lives. Though they've been given all the power they need to overcome the Evil One, they enjoy sin too much to apply the power of the Cross that sets them free.

Second, they've never been fully and clearly taught the truth of God's Word. Though Satan has been defeated, he still has the power to deceive, and those who aren't grounded biblically are his easiest victims. As long as he keeps them from the truth, he can keep them in his imaginary chains.

But make no mistake: the Cross is sufficient. Christ paid the price to forever set us free from sin. Yet the story of the Cross is not the end. Whereas the Cross set us free from sin, the Resurrection gives us power to live a new life. The Resurrection is not another doctrine to believe, but a reality to experience. It is proof of Christ's victory over sin and our hope of salvation. Just as Christ was raised to new life, so we experience new life in Him, a new life that begins the day we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior.

This Resurrection reality brings you into a wholly different dimension that allows you to see and experience what others cannot. Jesus told His disciples, It has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them [those who aren't His disciples] it has not been given (Matthew 13:11). Here again, many Christians don't understand—or haven't appropriated into their lives—the wonderful power of the Resurrection.

How about you? If you've been given ability to understand the mysteries of God, are you using your spiritual senses to detect God's activity and to adjust your life accordingly? Or do you act like the world, ignoring God until you need Him to bail you out of a crisis? The power of the Resurrection is a gift that must be opened and lived out. And with that gift, those who earnestly seek to live as children of God will walk with Him and experience His purposes in their lives.

The Cross and Resurrection are incredible events with far-reaching impact upon our lives. Yet without the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost, they're inaccessible to us. The pinnacle of Christ's work was to send the Holy Spirit to dwell in the heart of everyone who believes. For the Spirit takes Christ's work on the cross and through the Resurrection and brings that work to bear upon our lives. Thus He completes His work of salvation in our lives.

That's why Experiencing the Spirit is so important as the conclusion of a three-book series that includes Experiencing the Cross and Experiencing the Resurrection. All three events in the life of Jesus stand alone, but they find their intended purpose as a collective whole. This third book becomes, in a way, the exclamation point of all that God has done on your behalf. For the Spirit will bring you spiritual insight, practical application, and empowerment to live out the truth of God's great salvation day by day.

In this book we'll keep returning to various foundational truths about the Spirit from the Word of God, truths that the Lord has engraved on our hearts. We'll revisit them from various angles to help you more deeply reflect on them and respond to them. As the Holy Spirit of God causes your heart to embrace and obey these truths, and as they become more and more at home in your inner being, you'll never grow tired of hearing them and thanking God for them.

WHERE IT ALL STARTED

Looking back to the church in the first century, we're amazed at the impact of a people who appear to have had inadequate resources for such a monumental task. There were no seminaries to train their pastors, no beautiful church buildings in which to worship, and no such thing as a Bible in every member's hand. They had no elaborate sound systems or multimedia tools at their disposal, no celebrities to endorse their cause, and hardly any freedom to promote their belief in Jesus Christ. For the most part, they were plain men and women, insignificant and unknown, fighting against fierce opposition and hatred. But Scripture testifies that they turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6). Wave after wave of persecution broke over them, yet they emerged victorious. The message of the early church, as told in the book of Acts, is that the bare simplicity of the Christian faith is what counts. The testimony of early Christians was that God's people proclaimed the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit and confirmed it with holy lives.

So what's the secret? There is no secret. The Bible clearly tells us of a gift from God that unleashes the power and wisdom of His kingdom—providing all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Jesus told the apostles not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for this promised gift from the Father:

John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now…. 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. (Acts 1:5, 8)

The result of the Spirit's coming upon the apostles was beyond earthshaking; the Spirit-filled disciples literally shook the gates of hell. So dramatic was the coming of the Spirit upon the apostles that their enemies couldn't deny the power and wisdom they displayed: Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled (Acts 4:13).

Does the world marvel at the church today? Unfortunately, much of what happens in the contemporary church is little more than a reflection of the values and the reasoning of the surrounding culture. When it comes to serving God, we tend to look at what we're good at and what we like to do, then serve according to our ability. The result: we don't need the Holy Spirit because we think we have everything under control. The world therefore sees good people doing good things for their God, but they don't see the power of God working through His people to accomplish what only He can do.

So here's a question: will God ever ask you to do something you're not able to do? The answer is yes—all the time! It must be that way for God's glory and kingdom. If we function according to our ability alone, we get the glory; if we function according to the power of the Spirit within us, God gets the glory. He wants to reveal Himself‘to a watching world.

The purposes of God are based not on our ability, but upon His ability to work through us. Hence, the gift! The Holy Spirit is the indispensable gift God has given to every believer. As Peter proclaimed on the day of Pentecost, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).

GET READY

This book will reorient your thinking back to biblical teaching on the Spirit's role in your life. It will also clarify the apparent confusion between natural talents and spiritual gifts, and help you get in step with God's purpose for your life. As you understand the strategic plan in the heart of God to send the gift of the Holy Spirit, you won't struggle with burnout from serving God or carry the weight of anxiety and stress. Your Christian life will produce joy, not burdens that weigh heavy on your soul.

The gift of Pentecost was not just for the early believers; it's for you. As you study this book, you'll discover there are no excuses for watching the activity of God from a distance. He has chosen and equipped every believer for kingdom work.

God sent the Holy Spirit on assignment. So what is that assignment? What is He doing in your life? How do you get in step with Him and enjoy abundant life as Christ has promised? This book, though not an exhaustive study on the Holy Spirit, will be a practical guide to allowing the Spirit to help you experience the power of God's great salvation in every area of your life.

As you begin, we'd like you to consider a couple of issues.

First, allow the Holy Spirit to open the Scriptures and teach you. Too often we come to a study like this with a lot of baggage that may or may not be biblical. We allow many things to shape our thinking—past experiences, books we've read, teaching we've listened to, or just our own assumptions. So come with an open mind and heart to experience the fullness of the Spirit. Listen carefully to the Holy Spirit, for He's the Spirit of Truth.

Second, ask yourself some tough questions: Can I honestly say I'm experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit in my life? If not, why not?

The promise of God has been given you, and He expects your life to be shaped by His presence. You cannot remain the same. So prepare yourself to make some adjustments according to what the Spirit shows you.

Gift of the Spirit

in the Heart and

Mind of God

CHAPTER 1

REVEALING THE

UNKNOWABLE

Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

— 1 CORINTHIANS 2:9–10

The person who does not know the Holy Spirit of God does not know God. It's that simple. It's true that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to provide eternal salvation and that, through His death and resurrection, we have victory over sin and new life in Christ. But apart from the Holy Spirit, God's great salvation is of no relevance to us. Apart from the active work of the Spirit in our lives, we would neither know God nor have the ability to respond to Him. Divine truth is not something we discover; it is revealed by the Holy Spirit of God. As such, no other reality in the Christian life is as important as being filled with the Spirit. The doctrine of the Holy Spirit is distinctive to the Christian faith. No other religion has anything like it. What believers in Jesus Christ have come to know and experience through His gift of the Spirit brings them into a relationship with God that's inaccessible in all other religions of the world. For just as God did not create the world and then step back and watch it spin, but chose to enter time and space and interact with His people, so also God did not just deliver a set of laws for us to follow in the hope of earning our way to heaven. Instead He chose to enter a relationship with His people on earth through His indwelling Spirit.

TRAPPED IN ATTIC DARKNESS

When I (Mel) was sixteen years old, I had a summer job as a laborer on a construction crew. My boss was a small contractor who built homes, but he