THE WORKING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN YOUR LIFE (Part 2)
Acts 2:12-15, 21, 36-38, 41 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
[13] Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
[14] But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
[15] For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
[21] And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
[36] Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
[37] Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
[38] Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
[41] Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
Today we continue the devotion from Saturday on the working of the Holy Spirit. There is no greater need in the life of the Christian, than to know when the Holy Spirit is speaking to our heart. To be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and feel HIS presence in our life, and then to do exactly what HE says without questioning….this is not only the key to revival BUT the key to a Spirit FILLED walk with God. Without hearing and knowing the voice of God (The Holy Spirit), how would we ever walk by faith? How would we know where to go to church, not just (a church) but (the church) where God would place you to serve? When you sit down to read your Bible, what are you to do with what you just read? When we kneel to pray, how do we know in what way to pray or who and what to pray for? When the Lord would burden your heart to take a step of faith and you need direction, how do you know with certainty which direction to go? The Lord would never allow us to blindly live this life without the peace of knowing HE is leading the way. However, we MUST be listening to HIS voice to know how HE is leading us in every aspect of our life in service to HIM.
When I read the entire chapter of (Acts 2), in my spirit I immediately ask myself this question…how do I as a Christian harness this great power from heaven that I just read about? How does the church come together to worship and have THE WIND and THE FIRE sit down amongst us? The answer is right in front of us in the Word of God! God’s people came together in absolute UNITY of heart, mind, and desire. The question was asked in (V.37) of our text…”what shall we do?” Then Peter under Holy Ghost unction from heaven began to preach to them. Notice Peter’s message from God….”Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” My Christion friend, if we are to have God’s leading and power in our life and if we are to see a great revival as we see in our text, there MUST be a turning from our sin and a turning to God in obedience to the Holy Spirit…there MUST be REPENTANCE!
The Holy Spirit will lead the child of God into holiness, forsaking all that HE might have preeminence in everything in our life. There may not be any open or gross sin in our life, but we may have let other things become a barrier between us and God having HIS way. It could be our time, or other worldly things that we have allowed to drain us of our passion to know Jesus more. Sin at any stage will become a barrier in our fellowship and we may not even realize how far we have drifted. This drifting will filter over to our worship in God’s house and when HE speaks we are not sensitive to HIS voice. When the fellowship has lost its’ sweetness, HIS voice is faint, and we may not immediately react when…the Spirit says to sing, or shout, or testify. When HE leads us to pray or go to someone and encourage them, we convince ourselves that there is no way God would ask me to do that. This is when God’s Spirit is grieved and we lose the blessing that God would have for us. Tomorrow, praise the Lord, we have another opportunity to see God move in a way we have never seen. May the Lord grant us the courage to walk with Jesus in sweet fellowship before we come into HIS house. Oh may the Lord help us to remove every barrier, every sin, and every desire that all that may be left is a burning desire to see us and the church transformed by God’s almighty power.
Bro. Lawrence Longworth
Isaiah 61:1 “the opening of the prison to them that are bound;”
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