This week concludes our series “Spiritus Sanctus”. By way of brief recap, on week one we learned who the Holy Spirit is, and yes, He’s a real living person. Week two, we learned why we need Him. For one thing, He explains to us what the Father and Son want us to know. And He enables and empowers us for the mission Jesus gives us Christians. Week three, we learned about the amazing gift of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, which is available to all Christians. Week 4, we learned to discern - how to know - that we’re hearing the Holy Spirit and not some “background noise” from the flesh. Last week learned that walking in step with the Holy Spirit takes discipline and consistency, daily practicing for the events God is going to call us into, sometimes at a second’s notice.
We know now that all of this is leading us to live out the call that God has placed on our lives. And the ability to effectively operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit in order to further the Gospel is exactly why God wants us to have all of them. We should desire them or it’s unlikely we’ll want to use them, even if we have them. We should practice them because nobody who’s out of practice performs to their potential. And we should use them. After all, of what value is any gift if it’s still in the gift box on a shelf?
Most importantly, we now see that receiving the gifts isn’t the goal. We now love the giver above the gift. Our goal is intimacy with the Holy Spirit. If our goal wasn’t to get closer to the center of God’s kingdom, all the gifts He has to offer along that path wouldn’t do any good. We must seek first the kingdom of God and be living out His righteousness. First step; surrender your life to Jesus. And, as you are walking out your faith in Him, then all these things will be added to you. Let’s not put the cart before the horse. Sincerely desire above all else to know the giver of gifts. Desire to continually draw closer to Him in a true love relationship and ask Him for gifts when you want to use them for the purpose of powerfully sharing your faith with others and drawing them closer to Him as well.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 NLT
