My purpose in this “Snippet Study” is to share what I’ve learned about discerning when the Holy Spirit is trying to get your attention. I’ve been reading through 1 Corinthians for my quiet time, and today I noticed that the word “power” is repeated by Paul.
Repetition is the Holy Spirit’s way of highlighting a truth He wants to teach us.
I’ll be honest, I’ve been lacking victory in some areas of my life and this morning I woke up feeling like a total failure. To be honest, I’m the worst person I know!
Kindly, the Lord focused my attention on the word “power,” because I’d moved away from the truth:
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The Christian life is IMPOSSIBLE to live! Only Christ can live it!
Jesus said it so clearly to His disciples, “Apart from Me, you can do nothing.”
No matter how many “fences” I build around my behavior or thoughts, I don’t have power to live in a way that pleases God. That can only happen if I rely on the Holy Spirit to give me the power I need.
The great thing about our salvation, is that the Lord has given us everything we need to live a victorious life!
Unfortunately, many of us drift into functional “legalism.” That means instead of intentionally yielding myself daily to the Lord and thanking Him that He’s given me the Holy Spirit as the Source of power in my life, I go it alone. The Galatians had that problem, which is why Paul wrote them that letter. They’d fallen from grace and were in bondage to functional legalism. When we fail to yield to the Holy Spirit, we lose power in our spiritual lives.
Each of us needs Someone to control us from within! As we “walk by the Spirit’s power” we have power to say “no” to sin.
Standards don’t make us spiritual, walking in the power of the Holy Spirit does! In His humanity, Jesus was completely dependent on the Holy Spirit. We can follow His example each day. Before He went out into public ministry, He waited until the Lord anointed Him with the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 5 we’re commanded to be “filled with the Spirit.” More accurately translated, “keep being filled.” That implies two things. First, there’s a continual inflow. Second, we’re responsible for whether or not we’re filled.
Around that command in Ephesians 5, some things are mentioned that cut us off from the Spirit’s power. Because we’re still in the process of becoming more like Christ, we still sin. God’s remedy for that is found in 1 John 1:9:
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
In addition, there are also some positive things mentioned in Ephesians 5 that we can do. We can cultivate the Spirit’s powerful working in our lives by encouraging each other with Biblical truth, sing praise songs and thank God. Getting alone with the Lord is essential to plugging into the power Source. He enables us to live in way that pleases God. The Holy Spirit gets our attention in order to teach us and encourage us. He makes us more like Jesus, and give us power to live a victorious life!
If you want to learn more about living a life of victorious power, I highly recommend the book below by S. D. Gordon!
“What is the first great essential? (of the Christian’s life) It is this-the unrestrained, unhindered, controlling presence in the heart of the Holy Spirit. It’s allowing Him to take full possession and maintain a loving but absolute monopoly of all your powers.” S.D. Gordon, Quiet Talks on Power