Devotion #1: Spirit-Led Ministry
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8
These are the words of Christ to His disciples after He rose from the grave and before He ascended to Heaven to join the Father. They are among His final words to them, telling them what was to come at the appointed time. I think it is essential for us to notice the order of the events here. Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin. He rose from the dead, conquering the grave and establishing the new covenant with us. Now, He is giving His disciples a preview of what will happen next. They would become part of the Church’s founding. However, notice that He did not direct His disciples to go out and preach or to baptize people immediately. The first event that had to happen before the disciples could begin the work Jesus had set before them was to receive the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit indwells every believer. Once we repent of our sin, place our trust in Christ for salvation, and devote our lives to Him, He gives us His Holy Spirit to live within us. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul writes, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
The Holy Spirit lives within us to continually guide us in living as Christ lived on Earth. Jesus describes the Spirit to His disciples in this way in John 14:25-26, “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
In Acts 1:8, Jesus emphasized to His disciples that a true ministry must be led by the Holy Spirit. The disciples’ need to be filled with the Holy Spirit is the same as our need today. As believers and as a church, we must be led by the Holy Spirit before we can minister to others. Theologian John Stott said it this way, “Before Christ sent the church into the world, he sent the Spirit into the church. The same order must be observed today.”
As we focus on reaching our community, we must first focus on our relationship with God. Christ must be the center of your life, and love for His people must be the motivation behind doing good works for the Church. We can truly only fulfill these things by His Holy Spirit leading us. “Reach” is not about how much you can do or how much you can serve. It is about letting the Spirit of Christ lead you in His love toward the world. If you see the lost in your community the way Christ does, then you will be filled with compassion for them as He is. Take a moment to pray and ask God to help you see the church, your community, and all people the way He sees them. Then He will lead you to carry out whatever good works He has set apart for you to do.