"If an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"
1 Corinthians 14:24-25 (NIV)
How long has it been since you saw the power of the Holy Spirit evident in a worship service?
How long has it been since a sinner came under such conviction to fall to his/her knees in repentance?
- Acts 5:12 - Through the Apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people
- Acts 14:3 - Granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands
- Acts 8:6-8 - Hearing and seeing the miracles, unclean spirits came out of many who were possessed, and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed.
"The Spirit's presence is shown in some way in each person for the good of all. The Spirit gives one person a message full of wisdom, while to another person the same Spirit gives a message full of knowledge. One and the same Spirit gives faith to one person, while to another person he gives the power to heal. The Spirit gives one person the power to work miracles; to another, the gift of speaking God's message; and to yet another, the ability to tell the difference between gifts that come from the Spirit and those that do not."
1 Corinthians 12:7-10 (TEV)
You may not believe in the power of the Holy Spirit because you have not seen miracles take place.
The Bible does give us very definite reasons why God's miraculous power may be withheld:
1. My own apostasy will keep me from experiencing God presence
"Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?" Then I thought, "To this I will appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High." I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds. Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples."
Psalms 77:7-14 (NIV)
Anything that drives away the presence of God will also cause him to withdraw his miraculous power.
When you turn from God to pursue other things in His place, He withdraws his beneficial presence from his people.
What ever you turn your life over to is apostasy.
"If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth."
1 John 1:6 (NIV)
2. My own legalism has caused God to stop revealing his power in our worship services
The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men."
Isaiah 29:13 (NIV)
Legalism is more than simply following man-made rules or keeping a correct belief while letting your heart wander away from God.
The essence of legalism is trusting in the religious activity rather than trusting in God. It is putting your confidence in a practice rather than in a Person.
Your goal in life is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and body.
- God did not tolerate it among ancient Israel.
- Jesus would not tolerate it among the scribes and Pharisees.
- Jesus will not tolerate it among his own people.
3. My own lukewarm complacent faith drives away God's power
"You're stale. You're stagnant. You make me want to vomit."
Revelation 3:16 (MSG)
You say, "I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing."
Revelation 3:17 (NIV)
When you come to the point where you have lost your hunger for God and are satisfied with your present spiritual condition, then you have become lukewarm.
You are to always want more of God, more of his presence, and more of the character of Christ formed in you.
4. In my own unbelief , I concluded God was not performing miracles any longer
Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor. And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith."
Matthew 13:57-58 (NIV)
Jesus will not work miracles in an atmosphere of unbelief.
"You do not have, because you do not ask God."
James 4:2 (NIV)
How often do you pray to see the miraculous power of God right here during our services?
"Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven."
James 5:14-15 (NIV)
If you really want to experience the supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit, You have to put:
Never make the mistake of thinking when you pray for someone it is your godliness or the power of your personal holiness that will bring healing for that person.
Peter said:
"Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus."
Acts 3:12-13 (NIV)
Divine power does not travel in words, but in a personal relationship. Jesus was led by his own Father, and so must you.
2. Your confidence is in the power of the blood of Jesus Christ
"If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."
1 John 1:7 (NIV)
If you have not experienced God's power through the Holy Spirit because:
- Your own apostasy
- Your own legalism
- Your own lukewarm-ness
- Your own unbelief
Then, you need an intense pursuit of God.
"As a deer longs for a stream of cool water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for you, the living God. When can I go and worship in your presence?"
Psalms 42:1-2 (TEV)
"O God, you are my God, and I long for you. My whole being desires you; like a dry, worn-out, and waterless land, my soul is thirsty for you."
Psalms 63:1 (TEV)
"The one thing I want from God, the thing I seek most of all, is the privilege of meditating in his Temple, living in his presence every day of my life, delighting in his incomparable perfections and glory."
Psalms 27:4 (TLB)
When you come to worship God on Sunday's, does your heart express an almost limitless grief or sadness over sin or over the absence of God's presence?
Do you want your life to be characterized by an unrestrained affection for the Son of God?
If you ever make it in the Christian life, it won't be because you are a good follower. It will be because God's Son is a good leader.
3. Your confidence in His ability to lead you, not in your ability to follow
"Keep your eyes on Jesus, our leader and instructor. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterwards; and now he sits in the place of honor by the throne of God."
Hebrews 12:2 (TLB)
Make acquiring passion for Jesus the focus of your life. Put your eyes on the Son of God and leave them there. And you will find yourself falling in love with him.
Father,
Consume my heart everyday with passion for your Son. Grant me power from the Holy Spirit to love the Son of God like you love him. I am confessing if you do not grant me a work of the Holy Spirit in my life, I will never acquire passion for the Son of God. My godliness, my discipline, my knowledge of the Word are insufficient to produce passion for the Son of God. Only the Holy Spirit can change my heart. In Jesus name. Amen
