Day 6: Power To The People

Welcome back to 7 Day Start. We're going to continue building healthy rhythms that will help you build a life that honors God. Yesterday was such a great reminder that God wants us to love people well by treating them with compassion, love, and living in real community. Paul in his letter to his friends in Galatia points out another way that we can show love to people. He says, Serve one another humbly in love, for the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command. Love your neighbor as yourself. Serving each other is at the foundation of God's laws, which is his better way of living that Jesus modeled. It's a practical way to live out God's love. It reflects the character of Jesus, who is the ultimate example of service. It's a way of life that involves using our talents and our abilities for the good of others and growing spiritually in the process. It's selflessly giving and caring for others. But for it to transcend mere acts of kindness or good deeds and to have eternal, supernatural impact, it has to be Holy Spirit-empowered service. The Holy Spirit is the person of the Trinity we probably hear the least about. He appears less often than God the Father or Jesus in the Scripture by name, and most explanations of Christianity don't focus much on his role. Unfortunately, by skipping over or ignoring the Spirit, we miss out on access to a full dimension of God's person, presence, and power in our lives. So let's just take a few moments today and learn who he is and what his power in our lives can accomplish and how his power can help us love and serve others well. The Holy Spirit is active and present all throughout the Bible, even starting from the very first page. The beautiful creation poem that opens the book of Genesis starts this way,

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. The Spirit has been present and active in this world since the very beginning. After Jesus' death and resurrection, he promised a special new role for the Holy Spirit, the presence of God within us. God now lives in our hearts and in our lives. Paul, one of the early followers of Jesus, who we've heard about in the last few days, described our hearts as a temple and a dwelling place for the Spirit to his friends in Corinth and Ephesus. Because we have God's real, loving presence living within us, we have a voice that guides us and teaches us to live God's way. He also gives us the bold power to tell others about Jesus, convicts us when we fall into sin, brings us life and freedom, and produces God-honoring qualities in us such as love, joy, peace, and self-control. So if you've chosen to follow Jesus, that means you have access to all of this. That real presence is within you. Paul writes it this way to his friends in Ephesus, I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at the right hand of the heavenly realms. In this passage, which is full of rich language that bears reading again, Paul is praying hard for his friends that they would experience the full presence and power of the Holy Spirit. He even says that the power that comes from the Spirit's presence is the same power that God demonstrated on Easter. That resurrection miracle power, it's alive in you when you decided to become a devoted follower of Jesus. And the incredible stories of the first followers of Jesus confirm God's powerful promises

about a Spirit-filled life. In the book of Acts, Jesus foretells the coming of the Holy Spirit. He mentions it in his last conversation with his followers and friends before returning to heaven. Luke, a friend of Paul's, remembers it this way. Jesus says, That promise from Jesus was fulfilled just one chapter later. Jesus' followers had gathered to pray and discern what was next for them. Knowing that God had promised them the presence of the Holy Spirit, they waited eagerly for what He would do. Luke continues, Suddenly a sound, like a blowing of a violent wind, came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them. In an incredible way, Jesus' words come true, and the believers leave that place and begin to speak to the crowds in the streets. Since it was a special holiday for Jews, people had come from all over the Roman Empire to worship at Jerusalem. And this special gift from the Spirit allowed Jesus' followers to share the good news in a way that each of the visitors could understand. The friends and followers of Jesus continue to experience these special moments throughout the stories we find in the book of Acts. Each time, God works in them through supernatural abilities to allow them to work miracles or meet needs or share the truth of Jesus with the people around them. Amazingly, we have access to the same power through the presence of the Spirit. So it's essential that we regularly seek the filling of the Spirit, just as the first followers of Jesus did.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not just about a single moment of spiritual ecstasy or empowerment. Instead, it's about a continuous, growing relationship with God. It involves daily surrender, where a believer actively seeks to align their will with God's will, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide and shape their life. Paul encouraged his friends at Ephesus in the letter he wrote to them, Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Paul is contrasting someone who gets intoxicated, how they lose control of their senses and their body, to illustrate the kind of surrender that we need to have. It must be complete and total. And although our English translations can't convey the meaning of Paul's Greek words exactly, the command to be filled implies something to be done not once, but repeatedly and continually. A life continually filled with the Spirit of God is marked by the character traits that God wants us to model—love, peace, kindness, gentleness, respect, honor, joy, patience, and self-control, among many others. Paul's letter to his friends in Galatia uses a word picture of a fruit tree. You know an apple tree is healthy by the quality of apples it produces, for instance. In the same way, a life filled with the Spirit has fruit that can be tested to show God's presence within us. To be filled with the Spirit, it's essential that we allow a clean space for Him to inhabit. Begin by confessing your sins and asking for God's forgiveness and the grace to turn away from them. It's also important to prepare your heart to follow whatever He commands you to do. Then ask Him to fill us. Luke remembers Jesus saying this to some people who came to hear Him speak. If you then know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? It's a great way to fully submit your will to God's will and allow His power to fill

and sustain and direct you. In just a moment, a prayer will come up on the screen. Go ahead and pause the video and pray along. There is nothing magical about these specific words. It's entirely the desire of your heart that matters most. In addition to the work that the Spirit does within us when we are filled, we also outwardly live out unique, God-empowered abilities that can transform the world and impact others for Jesus. The Bible refers to them often as gifts. Spiritual gifts are special abilities given by the Holy Spirit to believers to help them in their Christian journey and to build up the church. These gifts are not just for the benefit of the individual, but they are meant to help others and spread the message of Jesus. And everybody has them. Paul wrote this to his friends in Corinth. There are a lot of different gifts, but they all serve one purpose. us from the Lord, and they are all empowered by God for serving others. Another of Jesus' best friends, Peter, wrote this in a letter that we have in our Bibles called 1 Peter. Each of you should use whatever gifts you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. If you'd like to know what these gifts are, the most detailed list of these gifts can be found in Paul's letters to his friends in Rome, Corinth, and Ephesus. These passages describe a variety of gifts, such as teaching and healing, helping others, leadership, and sharing the message of Jesus. These gifts are given by the Holy Spirit, and each believer has at least one. Below on the website, you can see a more detailed list of them. Just like Paul and Peter observed, one of the main purposes of spiritual gifts is to build up the church. Spiritual gifts are like different parts of a body.

Each part has a different job, but all work together to keep the body healthy and functioning. For example, someone with the gift of teaching can help others understand the Bible better, while someone with the gift of encouragement can offer support and motivation to those who are struggling. Another important purpose of spiritual gifts is to serve others in our communities. Christianity emphasizes the idea of serving and helping others, following the example of Jesus. Spiritual gifts allow believers to do this more effectively. For instance, the gift of healing can be used to pray for and comfort the sick, while the gift of generosity helps in supporting those in need. It's also crucial to understand that these gifts are given according to God's plan. No one gift is better than the other, and all are important. Since they all come from the Spirit, followers of Jesus should not be proud of their gifts or look down on others with different gifts. Instead, they should use their gifts with humility and for the good of others. We get the privilege to encounter God's Spirit personally, to be filled daily, and to serve where we are called. God's kingdom in many ways is opposite from what the world values. The highest honor we have is the opportunity to lay our pride down, use our abilities for the benefit of others. On day five, we heard this quote from Matthew's stories about Jesus. Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your servant, just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. This kind of others-focused living is a great example to the world and can pave the way for honest conversations about Jesus with those who need him the most. Will you ask God's Spirit to fill you today? Ask him to lead and shape your words, your thoughts, and your actions. Look for opportunities to serve somebody today, and let it be an invitation to share the news about Jesus.