Anderson Hills

The apostle Paul taught us that there are two different mindsets that we can have in our approach to God—we can approach Him as slaves in bondage or as adopted children. The Bible presents a high view of adoption and uses it to parallel the relationship God wants to have with us. The spirit of slavery views God as a slave owner and we are His trembling subjects. The spirit of adoption views God as a loving Father and we are His beloved sons and daughters. There is a vast difference between these two ways of thinking. Slaves may perform duties, but sons act out of love. Slaves dutifully obey, but sons gladly obey. Slaves ask, “What is required?” Sons ask, “What else can I do for you?” The Spirit of adoption changes us from fearful slaves to joyful sons and daughters.

The Holy Spirit empowers Christians in their walk with the Lord. First and foremost, He empowers us to be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ, giving us boldness to testify about Him in situations where we would normally be fearful or timid. The Holy Spirit also empowers us to live a godly life. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, there is less of us— of our wants, our desires, our sins, and our influences. When we rely on our own power to walk the Christian life instead of being empowered by the Holy Spirit, the enemy can knock us down and defeat us with things like guilt, bitterness, fear, doubts, busyness, pride, greed, and more. But praise God, we do not have to live in defeat, but instead we can live victoriously through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, the living God.

The Holy Spirit empowers Christians in their walk with the Lord. First and foremost, He empowers us to be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ, giving us boldness to testify about Him in situations where we would normally be fearful or timid. The Holy Spirit also empowers us to live a godly life. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, there is less of us— of our wants, our desires, our sins, and our influences. When we rely on our own power to walk the Christian life instead of being empowered by the Holy Spirit, the enemy can knock us down and defeat us with things like guilt, bitterness, fear, doubts, busyness, pride, greed, and more. But praise God, we do not have to live in defeat, but instead we can live victoriously through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, the living God.

In the book of Acts, God brought revival through the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Power came upon the apostles and they came pouring out into the streets, speaking in other languages, with small visible flames of fire floating above their heads. It was an incredible miracle, and it was the start of a massive revival among Jewish people who would come to know that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Revival like this is needed now more than ever. The Church has become generally worldly and lukewarm in its love for Christ. Let’s join in repentance, which is a prerequisite to revival, and cry out to God to pour out the Holy Spirit to draw the Church back to a deeper relationship with Him. Let’s pray that He will re-energize us so thousands can come to know Jesus!

In the book of Acts, God brought revival through the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Power came upon the apostles and they came pouring out into the streets, speaking in other languages, with small visible flames of fire floating above their heads. It was an incredible miracle, and it was the start of a massive revival among Jewish people who would come to know that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Revival like this is needed now more than ever. The Church has become generally worldly and lukewarm in its love for Christ. Let’s join in repentance, which is a prerequisite to revival, and cry out to God to pour out the Holy Spirit to draw the Church back to a deeper relationship with Him. Let’s pray that He will re-energize us so thousands can come to know Jesus!

The Christian life is a blessing, but without an understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, it can feel more like a burden. The secret to a blessed Christian life is being filled with the Holy Spirit. Having a Spirit-filled life is a command from God to obey, as well as a blessing to enjoy. Living life in the Spirit is also our obligation as Christians, because on our own we do not have the strength to do what God’s Word commands. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not so much about you “getting more of the Holy Spirit,” but rather letting the Holy Spirit have more of you. It is not just a once-and-for-all experience, but a continuing experience. When you surrender to the Holy Spirit and invite Him to work in you, you will know more power, joy, faith, conviction of sin, and more profound love of God and others.

The Christian life is a blessing, but without an understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, it can feel more like a burden. The secret to a blessed Christian life is being filled with the Holy Spirit. Having a Spirit-filled life is a command from God to obey, as well as a blessing to enjoy. Living life in the Spirit is also our obligation as Christians, because on our own we do not have the strength to do what God’s Word commands. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not so much about you “getting more of the Holy Spirit,” but rather letting the Holy Spirit have more of you. It is not just a once-and-for-all experience, but a continuing experience. When you surrender to the Holy Spirit and invite Him to work in you, you will know more power, joy, faith, conviction of sin, and more profound love of God and others

Jesus never intended for His followers to be passive observers of His victory over death. He intended for His victory over death to bring His followers back to life, a new and better life. The word that best describes this moment of new life is surrender. The tomb is empty so that we do not have to live empty lives. The resurrected Jesus revealed Himself to His disciples, even walked along side of them, and empowered them. And He will do that for us too. Your surrendered life is meant to be full of meaning and purpose.

Jesus never intended for His followers to be passive observers of His victory over death. He intended for His victory over death to bring His followers back to life, a new and better life. The word that best describes this moment of new life is surrender. The tomb is empty so that we do not have to live empty lives. The resurrected Jesus revealed Himself to His disciples, even walked along side of them, and empowered them. And He will do that for us too. Your surrendered life is meant to be full of meaning and purpose.

The Holy Spirit is the One who dwells in us, guides us, and convicts us of sin. We could not live a holy life without His power. However, we cannot experience His power without totally yielding to Him. From the moment of spiritual birth, the Holy Spirit indwells, or resides in, every Christian. But to be controlled by the Holy Spirit, we must, as an act of our wills, completely surrender our lives in obedience to Christ. Many believers experience episodes of contact with the Spirit rather than the fullness of the Spirit in their lives. They may have periods of victory followed quickly by seasons of spiritual defeat. This is frustrating and discouraging. By surrendering fully to the Spirit, we can live a truly transformed life in which the Spirit guides our thoughts, words, and actions