How Holy Spirit Empowers You to Live Like Jesus
The last words of Jesus, according to the book of Acts, were, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8)
Last words are very important. And those of Jesus were about a soon to happen event—that the disciples would be “clothed with power from on high,” (Luke 24:49b) and that this was a gift “promised” by the Father.
What was the point of this gift? It was to “enable people to witness and to live a holy life.” (from The Power of the Spirit by William Law, edited by Dave Hunt, 1971)
Having the Holy Spirit in us enables us to live a life that looks like Jesus. We cannot do it without Him. That means both that we are given the ability to live in a holy manner but also to boldly represent Jesus in the world. It means that we will be able to love like Him. Our words about Jesus will come readily by the Spirit at work in us. Our ability to minister healing and freedom to others is made possible by the Holy Spirit.
We’re hopeless without Him! If we go it alone, our works are just our works—things done in human weakness. But with the Spirit—ah!—look out!
And the good news is that often the Holy Spirit overcomes us when we least expect Him, sometimes through a healing event in our life or that of someone near to us. Thank God for grace! In this episode from the Rooted by the Stream podcast, you can listen for more about the surprising grace of the Holy Spirit.