Why Your Relationship With the Holy Spirit Needs to Be More Than Casual

I love the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit marked everything Jesus did.

The most incredible moment of all history was when Jesus was raised from the dead with the keys of death, hell and the grave. In one sin-shattering act, He uncovered the supernatural, life-giving power of the Holy Spirit and rescued and redeemed all of humanity in the process.

That act alone speaks volumes about the power of the Holy Spirit in the life of mankind. Even though Jesus was fully God, He was also fully man during his earthly walk. That means that what the Scriptures reveal about the mystery of the relationship of the Holy Spirit to the ministry and leadership of Jesus applies just as much to us as it did to Him.

Out of all of the Scriptures, one of my favorite verses is one that perfectly illustrates this point:

“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit that lives in you” (Rom. 8:11).

It’s easy to become so focused on the Spirit’s role in raising Jesus from the dead that we forget its application to our own lives. The fact that the same Spirit who was responsible for the resurrection of our risen Lord is also at work in our lives is a monumental truth, but it will have little impact if we merely teach it but fail to allow it to take root in our lives and bear fruit. That’s why I believe the devil, hell, demons and darkness fear the moment that believers begin to believe, understand and practice this verse.

You see, Jesus’ relationship with the Holy Spirit was more than casual. The Holy Spirit marked everything Jesus did. The Book of Isaiah prophesies over and over about the role of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’s time on earth. Isaiah 61—which Jesus Himself read in the temple at the start of His ministry (Luke 4:17–21)—proclaims that the Holy Spirit was on Christ and had anointed Him for service. (See also Isa. 11:2; 42:1). We cannot expect to lead as Jesus did unless, like Him, we are willing to lead under the same influence—that is, under the full guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit.

Today I want us to look at some of the Scriptures that mark the influence of the supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers of the New Testament. As you read over this list of just a few of my favorite Holy Spirit encounters of the New Testament, allow it to take root in your spirit and transform your understanding of the source of your call, power, and effectiveness as a minister of the gospel of Christ:

• Jesus sends us out as He was sent—that is, by giving us the Holy Spirit (John 20:21–22).
• The Holy Spirit moves on Mary (Luke 1:35).
• Joseph had a prophetic dream that confirmed that Mary’s pregnancy was a work of the Holy Spirit and directed him both to marry her and not to be afraid (Matt. 1:18–20).
• Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:41).
• Simeon was directed by the Holy Spirit to go to the temple so that he could meet the promised Messiah (Luke 2:25–28).
• The Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove at Jesus’s= baptism, and “a voice from heaven” proclaimed His Sonship (Matt. 3:16–17).
• John the Baptist taught that Jesus spoke the words of God and explained that God would give “the Spirit without limit” (John 3:34).
• The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness, and He returned from that experience through the Holy Spirit’s power as well (Luke 4:1–2, 14).
• Jesus drove out demons through the power of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:28).
• Jesus’ ministry of healing and deliverance was through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in His life (Acts 10:38).
• It was only “through the eternal Spirit” that Jesus was able to offer himself without spot to God, making a way for us to serve Him (Heb. 9:14).
• Jesus was made alive by the Spirit (1 Pet. 3:18).
• Jesus was justified in the Spirit (1 Tim. 3:16).
• Jesus gave commandments to the apostles through the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:1–2).

Our heavenly Father wants our lives and leadership to have the authentic marks of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus’ life and leadership did. When we begin to live and minister under His influence—and fully acknowledge and lean on the power available to us because of it—our lives and the lives of those around us will never be the same.

Have an awesome week.

You are beautiful. I see Jesus in you! {eoa}

Mikel French has challenged spiritual awakening all across America, where many celebrations extended into multiple weeks, and has conducted celebrations in France, Sweden, Russia, Romania, Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia, Germany, South Africa, Malawi, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Haiti, Japan, Singapore, India and Thailand. He conducted an outreach celebration in Manila, Philippines, reaching 200,000 teenagers with the book of hope. Through the generous support of partners, he has presented the message of Jesus Christ to millions of people in the nation of Russia through televised citywide soul-winning celebrations. Mikel considers it an honor to assist in conducting the annual pastor’s conference, where thousands of pastors from Russia’s 11 time zones come for training, teaching and equipping. Mikel and his wife, Marsha, reside in Tulsa, Oklahoma.