Friday, January 23rd

Read John 20:22- 22 And with that Jesus breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. First glance, that sounds so weird. Who wants to be breathed on?

Well, if it is coming from Jesus, and it is the breath of God. I want Jesus to breath on me because he is breathing the Spirit of God upon my life. He is breathing life, creation, correcting, encouraging, he’s empowering and guiding me.

Look at Acts 1:1- I love how Luke, the author of Acts says this. “I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach…”all that Jesus began to do?

Yes, he started it, and who extends it?

Acts 1:8- You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses… This is Jesus’ promise of the gift, the Holy Spirit, will come upon you, hover over you and you will be empowered and be my witnesses to the ends of the earth. Yes, this is for the disciples, but it’s also for you and I.

Because notice what Paul tells us in Romans 8:11- And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

What Jesus is telling the disciples and what Paul is telling us is this. What Jesus began to do, continues in you. You are the next chapter in the life of Jesus. You are a continuation of his life and his work in the world, through the creative presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

That’s why I was convicted, that’s why I think we need to thirst for more of the Holy Spirit and not settle for suspicion or ignorance. We have the opportunity to live a more robust life, not in our own power, because that is weakness. But by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can extend the work of Jesus.

Who is the Holy Spirit? It’s who, not a what or a force. The Holy Spirit is God’s personal presence in, with, and over you to create, teach, give direction, correct, counsel, intercede and empower you on your life journey for His Kingdom.

I know it is a mouthful, but that’s why it is so amazing. We can’t settle for something vanilla or plain or simplistic. There is a mystery to the Holy Spirit, but that shouldn’t leave us in suspicion, it should make us thirst for more because it matters.

It matters who the Holy Spirit is. Because the Holy Spirit isn’t just an experience; it’s new life in us. Yes, you may feel him or sense him at different times (prayer or worship or people can call them God-bumps) and I believe those experiences should move us to more. But that can also leave us with chasing Holy Spirit experiences. It’s not just about the “personalized” experience. It’s about God’s personalized presence in all that you are and all that you do. The Holy Spirit isn’t a punch in and punch out experience. The Holy Spirit is in us, through us, walking, filled transformative reality of God.

The Holy Spirit matters because He is given to us to build His Kingdom not ours. Do we want our life changed or do we want our life blessed? Our faith activity, our discipleship isn’t to find the right formula so God can bless our kingdom. Our faith, discipleship is walking and being filled by the Holy Spirit to change our life and empower us to live for His Kingdom.

Let me close with this story. The drummer from Coldplay, Will Champion wasn’t the first choice, his roommate was supposed to show up for the audition. But he didn’t. Will was a musician but never played drums. They simply said, “can you keep a beat.” Sure enough, he was able to keep a beat, got the gig, learned to play drums for one of the most popular bands in our era. Will Champion wasn’t qualified, but he was available.

God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the available.

Are you available to the Holy Spirit? How have you notice God’s personal presence in, with, and over you to create, teach, give direction, correct, counsel, intercede and empower you on your life journey for His Kingdom.

Next week, we will look more into how the Holy Spirit works and what it can mean for you.

May you be encouraged by this song as well. Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)