DAY 10 - Thursday, February 18th, 2021
Preserve the Unity of the Spirit
Our nation is facing a Holy Spirit crisis.
May our desire to experience more of the Holy Spirit be our Malaping parent respectieve endgame. And may we open our hearts and lives to His presence and action more fully than we have ever done before.
By the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, we can be a people who live a life of transformation and power, a life that clearly points to the one who deserves all of our praise. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that we are progressively made into the image and likeness of Christ, and it is by His might that we are empowered to live the life Jesus called us to live. There is a big gap between what we read in Scripture about the Holy Spirit and how most believers and churches operate today. In many modern churches, we would be stunned by the apparent absence of the Spirit in any manifest way. The missing something in our church experience is actually a missing someone-namely, the Holy Spirit. Without Him, people operate in their own strength and only accomplish human- sized results. The world is not moved by love or actions that are of human creation. And the church is not empowered to live differently from any other gathering of people without the Holy Spirit. But when believers live in the power of the Spirit, the evidence in their lives is supernatural.
The church cannot help but be different, and the world cannot help but notice: "The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).
Some people talk a lot about-even boast of-the Spirit, but their lives do not bear His fruit. Others speak of the Holy Spirit in theoretical or scholarly terms yet do not experience Him at work. Still others ignore Him for all practical purposes and, as you might expect, rarely experience relationship or intimacy with the Spirit. And then there is that rare person who doesn't talk frequently about the Spirit, yet whose life is a powerful display of His presence and activity.
As believers, we can never be "done" with God. He is infinite, and we are finite; there will always be more of His character to discover, more of His love to experience, and more of His power to use for His purposes.
THANKS
Give thanks to the Father: I praise you, Father, that I don't have to settle for the closeness I have with you now. I know there's more--a lot more. Thank you that I can have more of your Spirit's closeness, more intimacy with you, more Christlike transformation, and more power in my life. I'm crying out for more of you, Jesus, for I know there is so much more to be received.
CONFESSION
Listen for the Holy Spirit's prompting for confession: Let God transform you into a new person (see Romans 12:2). Pause for a moment and ask the Holy Spirit to show you an area of your life that needs His transformation-specifically, a change that is needed that will only be explained by the work and presence of the Spirit of God. Ask God's Spirit to make such a change in you that others can't help but recognize that you have been with Jesus: Holy Spirit, what part of my life needs to change today? What part of my life needs to change in such a way that people around me can't help but notice? Show me, Lord. And then empower that change within me. I want to be a beacon of transformation that points others to you.
PETITION
Join Jesus in prayers of petition: "But I will send you the Advocate-the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me" (John 15:26). Ask the Holy Spirit to be your Advocate today. Ask Him to reveal more of Jesus as you reflect on the needs of your life and the circumstances of your world.
Now ask the Holy Spirit to testify about the unity of the Spirit that is found in Jesus. Does the Spirit want you to know that Jesus is the all-powerful one, the Mighty Counselor, the Great I Am, the Prince of Peace, the Great Provider, the Attentive One, the Gracious One, or the Great Physician? One of the Spirit's jobs is to reveal more of Jesus.
Holy Spirit, given the needs of my life and the challenges of my world, what do you want to testify about Jesus? How might you want me to better live out the unity of my faith with others? Listen as the Spirit testifies more about Him.
WORD
Proclaim promises from His Word: "By this all men will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another" (John 13:35 NASB). Lord, speak to me about a time when you were longing for me to share your love with others.
- I could have listened more to _______, but I missed the opportunity.
- I could have apologized to _______, but I didn't.
- I could have helped more, but instead I _______.
- And I could have shared more appreciation, but instead I _______.
As the Holy Spirit speaks to you, offer a humble prayer: Lord, I want others to see the evidence of the work of your Spirit in my life. I regret the times when I have missed your prompting. Make me more sensitive to your voice, empower my actions, and deepen my unity with your people.
ENGAGE
Engage with other Jesus-followers in a lifestyle of prayer: "... wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2 Corinthians 3:17). Tell someone your story about the times when you have experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. The times where you have experienced freedom and change mean that these are the times you have surrendered, and the Spirit of the Lord was present to work within you. Talk also about the additional areas of freedom and change that are still needed. Then spend some time praying together: Holy Spirit, I want more and more of your freedom in my life, especially in the area of _______.
Show me what I need to surrender to you. I want to see and sense the Spirit of the Lord in my life in a real and powerful way. Visit globaloutreachday.com