Spiritual Power, Part 3
Receiving Spiritual Power
5th September 2010
For the last two weeks, we've been thinking about biblical teaching on the gifts of the Holy Spirit and about the need for these gifts in the mission of the church. This week, we turn to the question of receiving spiritual gifts. Before I start, I want to mention a couple of things that are terribly obvious:
- First, the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is God. We cannot with integrity welcome God the Father and God the Son while rejecting God the Holy Spirit. It's right to reject the excesses of charismatic worship but I hope we welcome God in all three Persons.
- Secondly, if you're received the Holy Spirit already, that's no reason not to pray to receive Him again, more fully. The Bible talks about Christians being filled with the Spirit more than once. For example, the disciples in Jerusalem were filled with the Spirit in Acts 2 and again in Acts 4. What has or has not happened in the past is not really the point. The question we should ask is "What does God want to do today?" God is infinitely loving and infinitely creative and we can be confident that He wants to do something today. Our part is to invite God to do whatever He wants.
Dear Christian brother or sister, I don't know what God wants to do in you today. There are many things He might want to do. These include speaking to you about sin in your life, or about things He wants you to do for Him. He may want to heal your body or your memories, or your thinking, or your relationships. He may want to give you a spiritual gift, such as prophesy or tongues. God wants to bring each of us into freedom. Galatians 5:1 says "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free" and 2 Corinthians 3:17 says "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." God wants us to be free from sin, free from sickness, free from fear, free to worship, free to use the spiritual and other gifts He gives us.
May I suggest that you to pray, right now, asking God to send His Holy Spirit to you. If you'd like to do this I suggest that you first sir or kneel in a comfortable position. Now settle in your mind that you want to invite the Holy Spirit to come, you want God to set you free, you want the power to live and to witness in a way that glorifies our Saviour and touches the lost. Now confess to God any sin in your life that might work against your being filled with His Spirit. Now open your hands and rest them face up on your legs. Take a moment of silence.
You might like to pray something like this:
Heavenly Father,
I trust You that You would never give me something that is bad for me.
Please send your Holy Spirit to me now.
Please do in my body, my soul and my spirit whatever you think is best.
Once again I give myself to you.
Amen.
Now stay in position for a few moments, and let God do whatever He wants to do for you.