Day 14 — Empowered by the Holy Spirit

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses…” — Acts 1:8 (NIV)

Yesterday, we learned what it means to walk by the Spirit. We learned to pause, ask, listen, and obey as the Holy Spirit leads us through everyday life but the Holy Spirit does more than lead us. He empowers us. Before Jesus sent His disciples into the world, He told them not to begin the mission in their own strength.

He said: “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” — Luke 24:49 (NIV)

Think about who Jesus was speaking to. These were His disciples and they had walked with Him. They had heard His teachings, and they had witnessed His miracles. They had seen Him crucified and risen from the dead and knew the message they were supposed to carry yet Jesus still told them: Wait.

Knowing what to do was not enough. They needed the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish what Jesus was sending them to do. So do we.

When we place our faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us.

Paul wrote:

“When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.” — Ephesians 1:13 (NIV)

This is why we can already walk with the Holy Spirit, hear His leading, experience His conviction, and allow Him to form the character of Christ within us but Scripture also speaks about believers being filled with the Holy Spirit and receiving power for witness and ministry.

Jesus told His disciples: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.”

The Holy Spirit within us transforms our lives and the Holy Spirit upon and through us empowers us to participate in the work of Jesus. These are not two different Holy Spirits. There is one Holy Spirit, and we are learning to surrender more fully to His presence and power. We don’t want only to know that the Holy Spirit lives within us. We want to be people through whom the Holy Spirit is free to work.

The disciples obeyed Jesus and waited.

Then Acts 2 tells us: “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit…” — Acts 2:4 (NIV)

Everything changed.

The same disciples who had been hiding in fear began proclaiming Jesus boldly. Peter, who had denied knowing Jesus, stood before a crowd and preached Christ. Thousands responded to the gospel. The Church was born and that was only the beginning.

Throughout Acts, ordinary believers were empowered by the Holy Spirit to do things they could never have accomplished through human ability alone.

They spoke with boldness and witnessed about Jesus. They prayed for the sick and ministered healing. They received supernatural wisdom. They were led into divine appointments. They operated in spiritual gifts and endured opposition, and they carried the gospel into new places. Acts is not a story about extraordinarily talented people. It is a story about ordinary people empowered by an extraordinary God.

The word power can easily capture our attention, but Jesus told us why the power would come: “You will receive power… and you will be my witnesses.”

The power of the Holy Spirit is not given so we can appear spiritual, and it isn’t given so we can impress people. It isn’t given so we can build a reputation around ourselves.

The Holy Spirit empowers us to reveal Jesus.

When someone is healed, Jesus receives the glory. When someone receives encouragement through a spiritual gift, Jesus receives the glory. When we have courage to share the gospel, Jesus receives the glory. When God gives us wisdom beyond our natural understanding, Jesus receives the glory. When a life is transformed, Jesus receives the glory. The Holy Spirit does not draw attention away from Jesus but points people toward Him.

The Holy Spirit also gives spiritual gifts to believers. 1 Corinthians 12 describes gifts such as wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, tongues, and interpretation of tongues.

Paul explains:

“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” — 1 Corinthians 12:7 (NIV)

Notice the purpose: For the common good.

Spiritual gifts are not trophies proving how spiritual someone is. They are gifts from God meant to serve people and build up the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit may give you insight that encourages someone or give you unusual faith to pray in a difficult situation. He may lead you to pray for healing or give you a prophetic word that strengthens, encourages, or comforts someone. He may give wisdom you could not have produced on your own but whatever gift He gives, the goal remains the same:

Love people. Build them up. Point them to Jesus.

Paul's teaching about spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 flows directly into 1 Corinthians 13, the chapter about love.

Spiritual gifts without love can become noise. Power without love can become performance. Knowledge without love can become pride. We never want to become more excited about being used by God than we are about the person standing in front of us.

The Holy Spirit does not empower us to make people into ministry projects. He empowers us to love them. Jesus was moved with compassion so should we be.

Before asking: “How can God use me?” we can also ask: “How can I love this person well?” The gifts of the Spirit should always operate through the character of Christ.

Sometimes believers assume supernatural ministry belongs to a special group of people like Pastors, Evangelist, Prophets, Missionaries or Ministry leaders but Acts tells a different story. God used ordinary believers. Stephen was not one of the twelve apostles, yet Scripture describes him as full of faith and the Holy Spirit. Philip carried the gospel into Samaria and God worked powerfully through his ministry.

Ananias was simply described as a disciple when God sent him to pray for Saul. The early Church was filled with ordinary people who became available to an extraordinary God. You do not need a platform to be used by the Holy Spirit. What you need is to surrender.

“Holy Spirit, I am available.”

That prayer can change the way you walk into a grocery store, workplace, restaurant, neighborhood, church service, or family gathering. Any place can become a place of ministry when a surrendered believer is listening to the Holy Spirit.

Jesus taught His followers to ask the Father.

Jesus said:

“How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” — Luke 11:13 (NIV)

We don’t ask because God is reluctant. We ask because we are dependent.

We recognize: I cannot accomplish the mission of Jesus in my own strength.

Maybe you already know what it means to experience the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. Keep surrendering and keep asking Him to fill you. Keep depending upon Him.

Acts shows believers who had already experienced Pentecost being filled again.

Acts 4:31 says: “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” (NIV)

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not about having one experience that we spend the rest of our lives talking about. It is about living continually surrendered and available to Him. If you have never intentionally asked God to fill and empower you through His Holy Spirit, you can ask Him today.

You do not need to manufacture an experience, and you don’t need to copy what happened to someone else. You do not need to prove anything, simply come to your Father with faith and surrender.

“Father, fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Empower me to be a witness for Jesus and to serve others through the gifts You choose to give.”

Then receive with an open heart and trust Him.

People experience the Holy Spirit in different ways. Some may feel His presence powerfully, yet some may experience deep peace. Some may weep yet some may experience joy. Some may pray in tongues, and some may feel nothing dramatic at all.

Our faith is NOT based on a feeling, and we do not measure someone's relationship with God by whether their experience looks like ours. We seek the Holy Spirit, not an experience. We don’t chase manifestations. We pursue Jesus and welcome everything the Holy Spirit wants to do in and through us.

The evidence of a Spirit-filled life is not merely what happens in a moment of prayer. It is seen in a life increasingly surrendered to Jesus and available for His purposes.

There comes a point when we must stop only learning about being used by God and become willing to step out. You may sense that you should encourage someone. So, step out. You may feel prompted to pray for someone, then simply ask if you can pray. You may sense God giving you something encouraging to share, so share it humbly. You may have an opportunity to tell someone about Jesus. Speak.

You may sense the Holy Spirit leading you to pray for healing. Pray. You may feel completely inadequate, good because that reminds you where the power comes from. You don’t have to create something supernatural and force God to move. You don’t have to make something happen.

Your responsibility is obedience. The power belongs to God.

Imagine what could happen if ordinary disciples began each day saying: “Holy Spirit, I am available. Use me.”

Not only inside church buildings but everywhere. At home, at work, at school., at the grocery store, at the coffee shop, in the neighborhood., at the dinner table or wherever God has placed us. This is how the book of Acts moved beyond the walls of Jerusalem. Spirit-empowered believers carried Jesus wherever they went and that same mission continues.

Yesterday you learned to say: “Holy Spirit, lead me.”

Today add: “Holy Spirit, empower me and use me.”

Set aside a few quiet minutes today. Begin by surrendering yourself to Jesus.

Then pray:

“Father, thank You for giving me Your Holy Spirit. I cannot fulfill the mission of Jesus through my own strength. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Empower me to be a witness for Jesus. Give me the gifts You desire me to carry and teach me to use them in love. Holy Spirit, I am available. Work through me.”

Then remain quiet for a few moments. You don’t have to manufacture anything. Simply receive and when you get up, remain available. Watch for opportunities to encourage, pray, serve, share Jesus, or respond when the Holy Spirit prompts you. The purpose of being filled is not simply to have an encounter with God. It is to carry His presence into the world.

Do I understand the difference between the Holy Spirit living within me and being empowered by Him for witness and ministry?

Have I been trying to accomplish spiritual things through my own strength?

Do I desire the gifts of the Holy Spirit so I can serve others and point them toward Jesus? Am I willing to be used by God even when I feel inadequate?

Am I seeking the Holy Spirit Himself, or am I chasing a particular experience?

What might change if I began every day saying, “Holy Spirit, I am available. Use me”