Jesus Shows How to Keep the Power of the Holy Spirit!
How do we keep the power of the Holy Spirit to the very end after God empowers us? Let us look at Jesus as the Perfect Example.
Separation to God!
Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit after He was baptized in the Jordan River and was led by the Holy Spirit to be tested by the devil: “Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days, He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry” (Luke 4:1-2).
Jesus was alone to face the devil, but He faced him with His submission to the Father and defeated the enemy by the Word of God. After that experience, God endowed Jesus with the power of the Spirit: “Then Jesus returned in the power (power - Greek ‘dunamis’ from which we derive the word ‘dynamite’) of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region” (Luke 4:14). The word “power” is added to Jesus only after He overcame the devil on the Mount of Temptation!
Jesus kept the power by declaring who He was!
Declaration!
Jesus came into the synagogue on a Sabbath Day and declared who He was: “So, He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.’ Then He closed the book and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing’” (Luke 4:16-21).
After receiving power, Jesus immediately declared His calling, mission, and purpose for which He came to the earth, and He did it in His local town of Nazareth!
Many believers start losing power because they fail to declare who they are in Christ. In order not to offend people, they remain quiet and in the long run, they lack the power!
Drawing the Line!
“So all bore witness to Him and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, ‘Is this not Joseph’s son?... Then He said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country’” (Luke 4:22, 24).
Jesus indeed revealed who He was to His hometown folks without hesitation. They thought He was the Son of a carpenter, Joseph, whereas Jesus revealed who He was!
I have often lingered on the fact that the familiarity of the people of Nazareth stopped them from receiving the miracles of Jesus. But the familiarity started with the revelation that Jesus was the Messiah, Son of God, and Jesus initiated it!
Here is another reason believers lose their power – they do not want to lose their families or friends. They want to please God as well as the world. God who is jealous will not tolerate it. They lose power sooner or later because, instead of drawing the world to Jesus by the transforming power they have received, the world has changed them to walk away from God.
Operating in the Power to Set People Free!
“Then (Jesus) went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority. Now in the synagogue, there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!’ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be quiet, and come out of him!’ And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him” (Luke 4:31-35).
The devil recognized Jesus and His power just as the demons and the devil will recognize the power within you. The power of the Holy Spirit is given precisely to set people free from demonic influence and bondage. The more we use the power of God the more God will fill us up with His anointing. Be bold to pray for those who need healing and deliverance because it is God’s will to heal them with the power of God’s anointing.
The power of God was present with Jesus as other miracles followed – Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law (Luke 4:38-39). Sick people were brought to Him in large numbers and were healed (Luke 4:40).
Continuous Seeking of God!
The wilderness separation changed Jesus to continue to separate Himself to seek the Father. Jesus slipped back into the wilderness to pray and seek the Father: “He withdrew into the wilderness and prayed” (Luke 5:16). Jesus continued to operate in the power of God after His separation in prayer: “Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them” (Luke 5:17-18).
We read repeatedly about Jesus’ prayer habits:
· “He was alone praying” (Luke 9:18).
· “He was praying in a certain place” (Luke 11:1).
· “He went up into a mountain apart to pray” (Matthew 14:23).
· “Rising a great while before day, He went out…into a solitary place, and there prayed” (Mark 1:35).
Prayer is an integral part of my ministry. I have traveled to a few nations and held large and small meetings in arenas and auditoriums. I will stay in prayer all day, seeking the mind of God. In those moments, I will be prepared with the insights from the Holy Spirit about what was vitally needed for that region and people. The power of God was present in those meetings. All glory to God!
Just as the power cord must be plugged into the socket that supplies power, we must be in communion with God for the power from on high, not just to operate in that power but to seek God’s will as to where and when we must.
Equip a Group!
Jesus chose 12 disciples after one of those moments of separation in prayer: “Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor” (Luke 6:12-16).
Jesus did not operate alone but chose a group to be transparent in His teachings with His mission and ministry. This is very important. A leader must not operate alone but be accountable to a group of people who know their lives, where they live, how they are doing things, and how their families are in the world. The Bible commands us to “know the laborers who labor among us.” For believers - For the power of God to be present and operational in our lives, we must be accountable to a church and a leader. We must belong to a group of spiritual believers to learn from and to impart to them. Our small group must include our family members but not limited to them. A group authenticates the power of God and sharpens us spiritually. We must constantly and continuously prepare ourselves to be accountable to them spiritually and morally and with character. Power is misused or abused when there is a lack of accountability. No matter how powerful our ministry is, we must always operate with integrity, humility, and character to present ourselves before a flawed world, whether the world deserves it or not. Unaccountable living leads to dullness and lack of power!
Think of this – Jesus was vulnerable enough to ask the disciples, “Will you also leave Me?” (John 6:67). Jesus answered their questions and coached them with the principles of the kingdom of God.
For the power of God to continue operating in our lives, we must present ourselves to a group of people who will watch over our souls, and be able to equip a small group of people – our own family, friends, members of the small group, etc. It is the example Jesus showed us that we must follow.
Finish Strong with The Power of Yielding!
Ultimate Power is the POWER OF YIELDING! Jesus was alone praying in the Garden, seeking strength from the Father to do the Father’s will: “And (Jesus) was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.’ Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:42-44).
The power of God was present even at the time of Jesus’ arrest in the Garden: “When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, ‘Lord, shall we strike with the sword?’ And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered and said, ‘Permit even this.’ And He touched his ear and healed him” (Luke 22:49-51).
But the power of healing Malchus’ ear was NOTHING compared to the POWER OF YIELDING TO THE WILL OF THE FATHER in Jesus’ life. Jesus shows us that staying in the Father’s will is paramount to continue in the power of God. With all we do, we must have the power of God to obey the Father’s will. The Power of Yielding helps us to be the person God wants us to be and finish all that God has called us to finish in victory, just as Jesus did.
Jesus finished strong by surrendering to His Father and doing the Father’s will to the very end. My favorite passage from Apostle Paul about Jesus as our example: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8). Paul concludes the passage with God’s exaltation of Jesus: “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).
Jesus finished strong with humility and submission to the Father until the very end of His life. Humility enhances grace, and grace receives an abundance of strength and power. As humility and obedience continue in our lives with Jesus being our example, the power of God will continue to flow through us to glorify God in all He has called us. Humility leads to exaltation! God exalted Jesus and granted Him authority in Heaven, Earth, and Hades!
Jesus is my Foundation to Receive Power, the Power of the Holy Spirit!
Separation to God and His Word is Paramount to Receiving Power!
Every time we Defeat the Enemy by our Submission to God’s Word, We Increase in Power!
The Power of God Continues in our Lives When We Boldly Declare Who We Are in Christ!
The Power of God Heals the Sick and Delivers People from the Bondage of the Devil!
The Secret to Retaining the Power of God is Through Our Continued Separation to Listen to God in Prayer!
To be Fit and Operating with the Power of God, We Must be Accountable to a Group of People Watching Over our Souls! We Must be Examples with the Power of God to Our Own Families!
Ultimate Power is the Power of Yielding to the Will of God and the Cross Helps us to do Just That!
Just like Jesus, We Will Finish Strong in the Lord and the Power of His Might!
Prayer
“Heavenly Father, I love You, adore You, and bow down before You. I thank You, Father, for the gift of salvation by the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus, on the cross of Calvary. I thank You, Lord, for the power of the Holy Spirit in my life. I pray to keep the power strong and the flame of Your fire in my life. I yield in obedience and submission to Your Word, Will, and desires. Conform me, Lord, to operate in Your will and with the power of God to set the people free in my own family and abroad. Separate me, Lord, to seek You all the days of my life. In You, I will live, move, and have my life every day. Help me, Lord, to bring glory to Your Holy Name. In the Most Precious and Wonderful Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen! Amen!!”
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John Jeyaseelan
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