Holy Spirit Power: How Do We Move With God’s Agenda for Our Life?
How does the Holy Spirit fuel our faith? Explore Christ Methodist Church’s vision for a Spirit-filled life and discover how the power of the Holy Spirit transforms individuals, communities, and the church.
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If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Exploring Our Vision Statement
Last fall, we entered a teaching series on the new Christ Church Mission Statement:
Christ Methodist Church exists to glorify God and make disciples of Jesus Christ among all peoples.
Additionally, we also adopted a new Vision Statement. So, what’s the difference between a mission and a vision statement? Our mission statement is the cutting edge of what Jesus has called us to do. A Vision Statement is what we aspire to as we live into our mission.
The Christ Church Vision Statement is:
By the power of the Holy Spirit, we will be a gospel-centered community who magnifies Jesus Christ as we worship passionately, love extravagantly, and witness boldly while serving the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized, spreading scriptural holiness in our city and to the nations for the spiritual awakening of all.
The Power of the Holy Spirit in the Life of the Church
As we begin this series exploring our Vision Statement, we begin with the first segment of the new vision statement, “By the power of the Holy Spirit,” which entails what it means to move in the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
One of the most overlooked yet crucial foundational aspects of our faith is the power of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church and individual believers. Far from being a mere theological concept, the Holy Spirit is the lifeblood that animates our spiritual journey.
The pastor, David Watson, tells the story of a Sunday school class in which the children were taught to memorize the Apostle’s Creed and called upon to recite it. After several children stepped up and struggled to recite in its entirety, a voice piped up in the background and said, “I’m sorry, but the child who believes in the Holy Spirit isn’t here today.”
While that story is innocent, it reveals something about many modern churches: There is an absence of persons who believe in the fullness of what the Bible teaches about the person and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. In his sermon “Awake Thou that Sleepest,” John Wesley shared, “The Holy Spirit—Christ in us, is the greatest Gift God has promised to man.”
Imagine for a moment the difference between a car with a full tank of gas and one running on fumes. The Holy Spirit is like that fuel, the internal combustion that propels us through our Christian life. Without it, we’re merely trudging through our faith, operating in a stall rather than moving with divine velocity.
The evangelist Billy Graham once said, “To the great gift of forgiveness, God adds the great gift of the person of the Holy Spirit.” This profound statement encapsulates the dual nature of God’s grace; not only are we forgiven, but we’re also empowered.
Jesus emphasized the availability of the Holy Spirit to his followers. In Luke 11:13, he stated, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” This promise is both comforting and challenging. It’s comforting because it assures us of God’s willingness to empower us, but it’s challenging because it requires us to ask. A healthy Christian is one who is Christ-centered but dependent on the Holy Spirit’s power.
Scripture shows examples of individuals and communities moving in God’s agenda rather than their own.
The Transfiguration
In Luke 9:28-36, Peter, James, and John go with Jesus to a mountain, and suddenly Jesus is transfigured. The radiance of His glory comes forth, and Scripture describes His raiment as becoming snow white. There glory is demonstrated around Him that is so glorious that Moses and Elijah also show up with Him.
Amid that scene, Peter injects his agenda. In Luke 9:33, he says, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” But, suddenly, Jesus’ radiance returns to an earthly framework. Elijah and Moses vanish, and the Father speaks a rebuke to Peter, “This is my Son, my Chosen One;[a] listen to Him” (Luke 9:35).
Peter attempted to get Jesus, Moses, Elijah, James, and John to adjust their lives to Peter’s plan. When all along, God wanted them to adjust their life to His agenda. Moving with God’s agenda cannot be accomplished in human power. While sometimes it seems counterintuitive, God invites us to trust Him and move in His agenda with the assurance that His Holy Spirit will empower His movement.
Moses
When God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, it was a task far beyond human capability. Yet God assured Moses, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings” (Exodus 3:7).
Put yourself in Moses’ shoes. If God said that to you initially, it sounds great, right? God’s going to take care of this suffering. However, consider it again after verse 10: “Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharoah, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”
Moses had to move with God’s agenda. It would take God’s power to accomplish the task. God’s agenda often seems impossible from a human perspective, but that’s precisely where the power of the Holy Spirit comes into play.
Zerubbabel
Imagine being tasked with rebuilding Germany after it was decimated in World War II. In the Book of Zechariah, while not a 1:1, Zerubbabel was tasked similarly with rebuilding Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. Not only was he in charge of governing, but he had to face the financial arrangements to make this happen, the complexity of building an entire city, tasking the right people for the right jobs, but also the surrounding enemies.
He faced an overwhelmingly daunting task, yet God spoke through the prophet Zechariah, saying, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). Our greatest accomplishments for God’s kingdom aren’t achieved through human strength alone, but through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus
Luke tells us that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1, 14). Romans informs us that if we’re in Christ, God seeks to conform us to Christ’s image (Romans 8:29). Therefore, if you’re to be confirmed into Jesus’ image, that involves being full of the Holy Spirit.
Church
In the New Testament, this empowerment manifests in the early church. The Book of Acts is replete with accounts of disciples filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:52), operating with supernatural boldness and joy.
The Apostle Paul, writing to the Ephesians, instructs them to “be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18), contrasting with being drunk on wine. There are many things we could unpack about that statement, however, one corollary reason is that on Pentecost people noticed that the early Christians had a boldness and courage they hadn’t seen before. They had a greater sense of God’s consciousness.
While alcohol dulls the senses and impairs judgment, the Holy Spirit heightens our awareness of spiritual realities and fills us with courage and love. There is a greater power with us than the challenges that may surround us. The theologian Charles Spurgeon said, “A church in the land without the Spirit is rather a curse than a blessing.”
Another theologian said that a fear-filled world needs a fearless church, and the way the church is delivered from earthly fear is by being full of God. The perfect love of God casts out all fear.
You
Spirit-filled living is living into what you are really designed for as a believer. Spirit-filled living is flowing with the river rather than fighting the river. You’re flowing with the Source of life as you go through life.
So why do so many Christians live lives that seem to lack God’s power? The answer may be simpler than we think: we often fail to ask. Jesus’s words in Luke 11:13 are an invitation that we need to respond to regularly. Just as we need to refuel our cars, we must continually seek the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
This concept is beautifully illustrated by the 17th-century Puritan Thomas Goodwin. He described seeing a father and son walking down the street. Suddenly, the father picked up his son, hugged him, and said, “Son, I love you.” While the boy’s status as a son hadn’t changed, his experience of sonship was profoundly different in that moment. Similarly, when we’re filled with the Holy Spirit, we experience the Father’s love in a tangible, transformative way.
The desire for this kind of love is universal. We see evidence of this spiritual hunger even in our modern, materialistic world. The pop star Robbie Williams once wrote a song with the lyrics, “I just want to feel real love. There’s a hole in my soul. You can see it in my face. It’s a real big place.” This articulates the God-shaped hole that exists in every human heart—a void that can only be filled by the love of God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit; it’s a spiritual hunger and thirst.
Jesus offers the solution to this spiritual thirst. In John 7:37, He declared, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” He is the door through which we access the Father’s love and the Spirit’s power. This invitation isn’t just for new believers; it’s a continuous call to all Christians to come and be filled anew.
When asked if he had been filled with the Holy Spirit, the great evangelist D.L. Moody famously replied, “Yes, but I leak.” This honest admission reminds us of our constant need for spiritual refilling. We’re not meant to operate on a one-time spiritual experience but to continually drink from the well of God’s Spirit.
As we step into this new year, let’s take a moment to respond to Jesus’s invitation. Whether you’re a long-time believer or someone just exploring faith, the call is the same: come to Jesus, ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and experience the transformative power of God’s love.
TL;DR
The Holy Spirit is the divine power fueling our Christian journey and central to living out God’s vision for our lives.
This blog explores the foundational role of the Spirit in the church, drawing lessons from Scripture and Christ Methodist Church’s vision statement.
Through the stories of Peter, Moses, Zerubbabel, and Jesus, we see how Spirit-filled living aligns us with God’s agenda.
The Spirit empowers us to worship passionately, love extravagantly, and serve boldly, enabling us to reflect God’s love and spread holiness.
Jesus invites us to ask for this transformative gift, ensuring we live boldly into His purpose for us.
