June 11th, 2026
This week, I’ve been thinking about the power of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus ascended into heaven, He told His disciples regarding the Holy Spirit:
“And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49)
The Holy Spirit is the power of God in His church. However, though He empowers us, we can’t think of Him as a power to be wielded. He is the Spirit of God, and He is not to be used or controlled. That may seem obvious, but that’s a misunderstanding people have had since the Holy Spirit was first poured out. Acts 8:14-23 tells a story along these lines. It says,
“Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for He had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.”
I don’t believe anyone reading this has ever tried to buy the Holy Spirit, but we may subtly have the same misunderstanding if we think about the Holy Spirit transactionally. There is nothing we can do to make us worthy to receive the Holy Spirit. That’s why He’s a gift. The only requirement is a life washed and renewed in the blood of Jesus and surrendered to the One He sent. He fills a surrendered vessel who will allow Him to do what He was sent on the earth to do. There is another story in the Word of God in which some Jewish exorcists thought they could wield God’s power simply by using Jesus’ name. Acts 19:11-17 says,
“And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.”
They didn’t have authority because they didn’t have a relationship with the One from whom authority flows. His name is not a tool to be used. Every promise in the Word of God works only through relationship with the One who breathed it. We can ask anything in Jesus’ name when we abide in Him!
The Holy Spirit is the power of God and He will move and lead us, as we surrender. Men’s gifts are often confused with God’s anointing, but gifts alone will not bear lasting fruit. Only the Holy Spirit bears the true fruit of righteousness in a surrendered life.
Jesus said it was to our advantage that He leave the earth, so He could pour out the Holy Spirit (John 16:7). He even said that His disciples would do greater works than He did after He left the earth (John 14:12). He is the power of God moving on this earth and we can expect Him to move in power in our lives, but we must understand it is Him working through us. He is not a power to be wielded, but the power of God to be surrendered to.
He is called the Spirit of Truth (John 16:13) and the Comforter (John 14:16).
He is the One who convicts of sin (John 16:8) and pours God’s love into our hearts (Romans 5:5).
He is the same One who raised Jesus from the dead and who gives us life (Romans 8:11).
Galatians 5:25 says,
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”
Romans 8:14 says,
“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”
He is the One who leads, not the other way around! We are filled with the Holy Spirit so we can follow. As we follow Him, we will partake in the promises Jesus made to His church. It is Christ in us the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27)! It is the working of the Holy Spirit through us that will turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6). The Father will be glorified in us, as He wills and works for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). God’s power is a person—the Holy Spirit of God—and He is to be welcomed and received. He is to be honored, heeded, and followed. He will work in us powerfully. He will do the same things through us as He did through the disciples in the book of Acts. Today, we encourage you to yield to the One who is called the gift of the Father. He is good and kind, and we will see His power as we surrender to the sound of His voice. As we obey the Word of God and surrender to the Holy Spirit, He will demonstrate the power of heaven in and through us!
“And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49)
The Holy Spirit is the power of God in His church. However, though He empowers us, we can’t think of Him as a power to be wielded. He is the Spirit of God, and He is not to be used or controlled. That may seem obvious, but that’s a misunderstanding people have had since the Holy Spirit was first poured out. Acts 8:14-23 tells a story along these lines. It says,
“Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for He had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.”
I don’t believe anyone reading this has ever tried to buy the Holy Spirit, but we may subtly have the same misunderstanding if we think about the Holy Spirit transactionally. There is nothing we can do to make us worthy to receive the Holy Spirit. That’s why He’s a gift. The only requirement is a life washed and renewed in the blood of Jesus and surrendered to the One He sent. He fills a surrendered vessel who will allow Him to do what He was sent on the earth to do. There is another story in the Word of God in which some Jewish exorcists thought they could wield God’s power simply by using Jesus’ name. Acts 19:11-17 says,
“And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.”
They didn’t have authority because they didn’t have a relationship with the One from whom authority flows. His name is not a tool to be used. Every promise in the Word of God works only through relationship with the One who breathed it. We can ask anything in Jesus’ name when we abide in Him!
The Holy Spirit is the power of God and He will move and lead us, as we surrender. Men’s gifts are often confused with God’s anointing, but gifts alone will not bear lasting fruit. Only the Holy Spirit bears the true fruit of righteousness in a surrendered life.
Jesus said it was to our advantage that He leave the earth, so He could pour out the Holy Spirit (John 16:7). He even said that His disciples would do greater works than He did after He left the earth (John 14:12). He is the power of God moving on this earth and we can expect Him to move in power in our lives, but we must understand it is Him working through us. He is not a power to be wielded, but the power of God to be surrendered to.
He is called the Spirit of Truth (John 16:13) and the Comforter (John 14:16).
He is the One who convicts of sin (John 16:8) and pours God’s love into our hearts (Romans 5:5).
He is the same One who raised Jesus from the dead and who gives us life (Romans 8:11).
Galatians 5:25 says,
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”
Romans 8:14 says,
“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”
He is the One who leads, not the other way around! We are filled with the Holy Spirit so we can follow. As we follow Him, we will partake in the promises Jesus made to His church. It is Christ in us the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27)! It is the working of the Holy Spirit through us that will turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6). The Father will be glorified in us, as He wills and works for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). God’s power is a person—the Holy Spirit of God—and He is to be welcomed and received. He is to be honored, heeded, and followed. He will work in us powerfully. He will do the same things through us as He did through the disciples in the book of Acts. Today, we encourage you to yield to the One who is called the gift of the Father. He is good and kind, and we will see His power as we surrender to the sound of His voice. As we obey the Word of God and surrender to the Holy Spirit, He will demonstrate the power of heaven in and through us!
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