Wednesday October 04th, 2023
« ” But you will receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses [to tell people about Me] both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.” »
4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all.
5 There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord.
6 God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.
7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.
8 To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge.
9 The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing.
10 He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said.
11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.
Towards the end of His earthly ministry, our Lord Jesus Christ gave us an assignment, commonly called the Great Commission: to preach the gospel to every creature.
He however, mentioned a requirement we would need before going out to witness to the whole world about Him – the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).
- Embarking on the work of missions without the power of the Holy Spirit is suicidal.
This is the reason we have casualties among modern day missionaries because some of them are not spiritually equipped.
While they have the zeal, many lack the spiritual empowerment for the work at this present time, just like Uzzah when the Ark of the Covenant was being moved. 2 Samuel 6:6-7 CW
« 6 But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out his hand and steadied the Ark of God. 7 At once the Lord God became angry with Uzzah and killed him because of his irreverence. Uzzah died there beside the Covenant Box »
Presumptuous sin killed Uzzah.
This is the reason David prayed that God should deliver him from presumptuous sins Psalm 19:13 NKJV
« Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins…»
We need to be endued in the Holy Spirit before we can be effective missionaries.
- While the missionary mandate must be kept by genuine children of God, we must be sure to receive the power of the Holy Ghost before we start.
We must therefore be baptized in the Holy Spirit.
I pray that as many as are thirsty for the baptism of the Holy Spirit shall be satisfied with it today, in Jesus’ Name.
Going by the gift which the Holy Spirit offers us in the text of toady, we can see the reason every missionary and soulwinner must be possessed by the Holy Spirit.
- For example, the word of wisdom is necessary for effective evangelism.
A preacher without the Holy Spirit is a mere orator.
- A missionary needs the gifts of prophesy and discerning of spirits as a weapon against the deceit of the devil.
Of course, without speaking and praying in tongues, a missionary’s prayer life would be in shambles.
I pray that every soulwinner using this devotional today will be adequately equipped by the Holy Spirit for exploits, in Jesus’ Name.
Application – God is willing to baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Ensure you rid yourself of all impurities that may hinder Him from coming into your life today.
Author: Bishop Enoch. A. Adeboye.
Posted by Naomie Joseph
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