How little chance the Holy Ghost has nowadays. The churches and missionary societies have so bound Him in red tape that they practically ask Him to sit in a corner while they do the work themselves. (C.T. Studd from Fool and Fanatic)

John the Baptist came to realize, “I must decrease, Jesus must increase.” Jesus said, “Without Me you can do nothing.” Paul said, “I labor more abundantly than all the apostles, yet not I but the grace of God.” These expressions of personal limitations all give way to the unlimited nature of the Spirit within us. All that Jesus could do while on earth, disciples can do by the Holy Spirit’s abiding presence.

But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me. And concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. (John 16:7-11)

Jesus is going to the cross and will be replaced by the Holy Spirit who will live within the believers The Holy Spirit will bring conviction to the world. To convict is to speak out the charge (offense) and the inward acknowledgment of the truth of that charge. A disciple, under the influence of the Spirit, can purposefully speak truth that convicts a non-believer of sin, righteousness or judgment. Or unknowingly, the Holy Spirit can flow through a believer, bringing the desired effect within the other person. Speakers can speak boldly of these three topics but only the Holy Spirit can bring conviction. It is easy to find people with no comprehension of these three realities and by using carnal methods of preaching or witnessing they will remain untouched. The Holy Spirit has ways of getting past mind sets, intellectual strategies or even spiritual belief systems. When that same person comes to realize their personal sinfulness, their lack of any right standing and their impending judgment they become more open minded to continued conversation. The goal is not conviction but the corresponding action of repentance.

When Jesus was gathering the Twelve He used the Spirit in revealing ways. As Nathanael approached Jesus for the first time Jesus said, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile” (John 1:47). Using the nine gifts of the Spirit as reference point, Jesus here used discerning of spirits and saw Nathanael’s spiritual nature. Then, in the next verse, “I saw you under the fig tree.” This could be seen as a word of knowledge. With the Samaritan woman Jesus used a word of knowledge and asked about her husband, leading to His revelation she had several of them. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are powerful and ready to go into action at a moments notice. “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him” (Luke 11:13).

The believer firmly under the Lordship of Jesus can be confident of the Holy Spirit’s leading in their lives. Whether by voice or by impression the Spirit does lead in the right direction. In Acts 13:2-4, in response to a time of prayer and fasting, the Holy Spirit gave direction to Barnabas and Paul to go to Seleucia and Cyprus. In Acts 16:6-9 they were forbidden to go to Asia or to Bithynia yet were instructed through a dream to go to Macedonia. Any attempt to figure out the reasoning for each step is of little value. The Holy Spirit saw each option and chose the best each time.

When a missionary goes into a new culture he/she tries to learn of any cultural differences that would minimize their effectiveness. Prayer and sensitivity can prevent devastating events from taking place. This could include how men and women interact, eating courtesies, or honoring a person of authority. A disciple is called to serve; anything that can be done to keep the focus on building the Kingdom is desirable. The Holy Spirit is keenly aware of all such matters.

The Holy Spirit can also take the disciple’s personality and use it to draw people to Christ. I have seen my love for nature be interpreted as a love for their country, therefore a love of them. Pictures of my children have led to wonderful talks about family and then to our great Father.

The Spirit loves people; to be led by the Spirit is to be led by love. All people respond to love. Love never fails. As a believer lives a life in the Spirit, love will manifest in word and deed. The Holy Spirit will attack any prejudice or cultural preferences until it is eradicated. There is no place for believers being respecter of persons, economically, racially or culturally.

When the Spirit was poured out on the Day of Pentecost everything changed. It was no longer just the Apostles with the power and the ability. The Spirit fell on the full range of humanity. Now, anyone could operate in miracles, or speak of Jesus’ resurrection. Like the prophecy from Joel, the Holy Spirit was poured out on all flesh.

There will always be a need for leadership and divine order but the Holy Spirit was given to all. In our churches everyone should be encouraged to be similarly filled with the Spirit and therefore used by the Spirit. The Spirit includes all, and all are needed to accomplish the task of the Great Commission.

This conversation about the Spirit has been mostly one dimensional – talking to others about Jesus. But the Holy Spirit is also the Creator. He wants to so possess believers that they become creative. Art, music, dance, drama are all legitimate ways of communicating the gospel. Believers should be the prime movers in these fields. Writing, both fiction and non-fiction is also an avenue to consider. There is technology waiting to be discovered that will be used to propagate the gospel. Why not Spirit dominated disciples? Who is teaching the next generation, who is making policy for our nation, who controls the finances? Where do you and the Holy Spirit fit in?

A relationship with God is built on communication, just as it is with anyone. The more intimate the conversation, the closer the relationship. We find the first step in Matthew 6, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness”.

When I first met my husband, we talked about general things. As we spent more time together, our talk turned to more personal talk, our likes, our dislikes and our talents. As we began to feel safe with each other, we found ourselves sharing the hurts and the losses, comforting and encouraging each other. What we didn’t realize is that we were building a foundation for a deeper relationship. A foundation of friendship supported a structure that allowed us to share our most intimate dreams and desires. Without knowing it we were building a house of love that was a safe haven. That is what our Lord wants from us and what we so desperately need.

The bible is full of stories about the power of prayer. As we see our prayers answered, we are filled with joy and confidence in God. The more desperate the prayer the more miraculous the answer, the more passion is stirred within us. James 5: 16b-18 declares that “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.” Who of us would not like to pray with that kind of power? As we build our relationship with God our prayer power will also increase.

The bible tells us that in some instances our prayers may be refused. We must check for these issues if we do not see answers to our prayers.

1. Sin. Psalms 66:18 “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.

2. Selfishness. James 4:3 “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”

3. Doubt. James 1: 5-7 “If any of you lacks wisdom let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord”

4. Disobedience. Proverbs 28:9 “One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination.”

5. Inhumanity. Proverbs 21:13 “Whoever shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard.”

6. Pride. Luke 18:11-12,14 “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, “God, I thank You that I am not like other men – extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be abased, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Prayer usually begins as requests to God. God help me. God save me. God tell me what to do. As we get more comfortable we might begin to ask for more detailed things and not just for ourselves but for others. There are at least four kinds of prayer. All should be practiced regularly.

1. Secret. Matthew 6:6 says “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly”.

2. Family. Acts 10:2, 30 “a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always”. 30 “And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,”

3. Group. Matthew 18:19-20 “Again, I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

4. Public. Paul writes to Timothy about prayer in public worship. I Timothy 2:1 “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.”

To find intimacy with God there is a progression. First we enter His gates with thanksgiving and secondly we enter His courts with praise. To be totally in His presence takes worship from the heart.

There are five areas we can go in prayer. Our prayer can be wholly of one area or a mixture of some or all areas.

1. Adoration. Daniel 4:34 “And at the end of time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And his kingdom is from generation to generation”.

2. Confession. I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

3. Supplication. Philippians 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God,”

4. Intercession. James 5:14-15 “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”

5. Thanksgiving. Psalm 95:2 “Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.”

Many new believers will find such excitement as God answers their prayers so quickly. Then there is often a time of discouragement as God begins to require some maturity on our part and the answers seem to slow. There are personal requirements for our prayers to be as effective as we desire.

1. Purity of heart. Psalms 66:18 “If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.”

2. Believing in Christ’s name. Matthew 21:22 “And all things whatever ye ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

3. According to God’s will. I John 5:14 “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

As our relationship becomes stronger and closer, God begins working on other areas. There are also general requirements for us to receive the full effect of our prayers.

1. Forgiving spirit. Matthew 6:14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

2. Simplicity. Matthew 6:7-8 ” but when you pray, do not use vain repetitions like the heathens do. For they think that they will he heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For you Father knows the things that you have need of before you ask Him.”

3. Humility and repentance. Luke 18:10-14 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men – extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this at collector. I fast twice a week; I five tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be abased, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

4. Unity of believers. Matthew 18: 19-20 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

5. Tenacity. Luke 18:1-8 “Then he spoke a parable to the, that men always ought to pray and no loss heart, saying: ’There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, Avenge me of my adversary. And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ Then the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though he bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he really find faith on the earth?”

6. Importunity. Luke 11: 5-8 “And He said to them, ‘Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him; and he will answer from within and say, Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and five to you? I say to you, though he will not rise, and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence will rise and give him as many as he needs.”

7. Intensity. Matthew 7:7-11 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

8. Confident expectation. Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”

9. Without many words. Matthew 6:7 “But when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.”

10. Unceasingly. I Thessalonians 5:17 “pray without ceasing”.

The disciples left their homes and families to follow Jesus. They learned from Him and prayed with Him. He showed them regularly the power of prayer and the diligence it took to walk in that power. Jesus demonstrated the power of prayer through healing, increasing the bread and the fish, deliverance, and facing death. The disciples themselves had healed the sick and preached the gospel, but only one of the twelve made it to the cross. Knowing this Jesus provided direction for them to receive power. It was those who walked with Him that He gave this instruction: Acts 1:8 “But 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.”

Even Peter who had denied Christ three times became a man of extreme courage.

Those men were so empowered that they changed the world. Miracles were performed by all as they traveled and preached the gospel. As they were faithfully obedient to wait and pray for the power it descended upon them. Their passion was ignited and many of them faced persecution and death as a result.

As we spend time with Jesus in prayer and worship, we can expect the same formation in us. We need not be concerned with our weakness because “likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Romans 9:26).

In my own walk with Jesus, I found every time I heard His voice or He answered my prayer, I became hungrier for more. The more time I spent in prayer, both corporately and singularly, the more results I had. When the blessings are flowing and you feel the favor of God, you just naturally want more. We are people of passion because He is a God of passion. We were made in His image. Through prayer and study we can have the mind of Christ.

Saul had a visitation from the Lord that changed his life. He spent time with the disciples to learn prayer and obedience. He became Paul a man of passion who walked in the miraculous. Relationship with the master, prayer, and obedience transformed many in the upper room. They overcame fear and demonstrated the love of Christ even under the threat of loss of life.

My life has been transformed. When I began my relationship with Jesus, I was a child. I grew into a shy, backward woman. Through prayer, I received the power from the Holy Spirit. No longer am I afraid to stand before many to preach the gospel. I no longer fear the condemnation of man. The desire to be close to my Lord has grown to the proportion that it has become a driving force. Pressing me into deeper prayer times. Making me hungry to know more and to experience more. More love, more power, more of Him in my life. It all began with a small quiet prayer and continues with an effective, fervent prayer.

As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world(Jesus, to His Father in prayer. John 17:18)

What is Jesus’ appeal? On a base level His appeal was in His willingness to care for people’s basic needs. He accepted people in their current station of life. He healed the incurable, spoke for the voiceless, and was a Shepherd to the wandering.

As noble as that short list reads, many other people have done similarly. As God, as sinless, Jesus touched lives like no other. In John eight He resolved a dispute over a women caught in adultery. All the accusers, condemned by their own lifestyles, walked away. To the woman Jesus spoke lovingly yet pointedly, “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.” Like the Psalms says, “Lovingkindness and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other (85:10). That action is unforgettable; her life was changed. Her interaction with others may also have been affected for years to come.

The first point being, Jesus touched lives out of His very nature. He was love therefore He loved. He was gentle therefore His words and actions were gentle. After a brief encounter with Jesus, Zaccheus changed his whole way of living, “Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much: (Luke 19:8). Conversely, Jesus was talking with the rich young ruler and trying to get him to raise his level of lifestyle to include reaching out. Mark 10:21 says Jesus loved him as He spoke to him. That love and that godly desire did not bring about the result Jesus was looking for.

Jesus came to do His Father’s will; He came to give mankind a human example of the heart of Jehovah, “If you have seen Me you have seen the Father” (John 14:9). Included in that Father/Son relationship were principles Jesus lived by. “I only do what I see My Father doing” (John 5:19). In John 5 Jesus walks to the pool of Bethesada and heals one man out of a crowd of infirmed. The question arises, how can a Man of healing and compassion step over the many and heal the one? Simplistically, the answer is Jesus doing exactly what Father did, no more or less.

Jesus was blunt and seemingly without compassion for the religious leaders of His day. They were deterrents to the Father’s will. Those religious leaders called for their own system of laws not God’s law. Their motivation was to make disciples in their own image not that of God’s. To propagate a system, with God’s Name but without God, brought out Jesus’ anger. They were dishonoring God therefore Jesus spoke and acted accordingly.

Another aspect of Jesus’ life that affected the way He reached out to people was His goal of raising up disciples. Jesus was different with the Twelve than with the multitude. The Twelve represented the future after the resurrection. They needed a great deal of time and effort to prepare them for what was to come. They were the audience for the Sermon of the Mont, they saw His priority with the Father, and they experienced the calming of the seas and Him walking on the water. Molding twelve followers into twelve Apostles is a whole life’s work. We can only imagine the rich times that were spent walking from one village to the next or the conversations after the crowds went home. Those twelve, who soon become eleven, changed the world.

In Matt. 16 Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He really was. Peter correctly said Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus was pleased with Peter yet told all of them to keep that revelation to themselves. Verse 21 states:

 

With the establishment of one level of discipleship (Who am I) came the beginning lesson of the next (What am I called to do). Getting the Twelve to believe in the purpose of His death and resurrection was never really accomplished.

As much as Jesus lived by principles each human encounter was individualistic. Jesus showed great honor to His mother, yet showed contempt toward His brothers (John 7:3-8). He called a woman a dog then boasted about her faith (Mark 7:27-29). He believed the words of a thief dying on a cross yet told a Pharisee he was a liar and his father was the devil, the father of all lies John 8:44).

Jesus touched lives out of the abundance of who He was as a person and out of His relationship with His Father. Disciples today, as they grow in knowledge as to who they are in Christ will also positively affect their generation.