16. Holy Spirit winds of reform

HOLY SPIRIT WINDS OF REFORM
By: Juanita Cercone

Holy Spirit is authority.

The message of salvation has been preached throughout much of Latin America. Millions of people come to the feet of Christ each day, and an entire generation of young people has been impacted with the power of the Holy Spirit, but we have failed to impact our nations. Have you embraced the commission to preach the Gospel, cast out demons, lay hands on the sick, and speak in tongues, yet turned away from the assignment to disciple nations? Are you content with full churches, larger buildings, and manifestations of the Spirit inside while the nation surrounding you remains unchanged?

The Lord is preparing us to be agents of transformation and reformation. Spirit–empowerment moves believers from a minority mentality to places of influence and authority. Our responsibility is to accept and engage that authority in the various arenas of our societies. We cannot remain confined to the four walls of our churches. We have to be salt and light to the world.

The Holy Spirit is blowing in the Latin American continents with a new revival—one different from those experienced in the past. It is a revival of influence, of presence, of reform. Will you be secure in your relationship with Christ and your responsibility before the Lord? You are destined to use the talents, gifts, and creative ideas God has given to change your society. Who is better than the children of God, guided by the Holy Spirit, to give answers for the economic, social, political, and educational crises plaguing our nations?

“For after David had served by the counsel of God in his own generation, he fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw decay.
 Acts 13:36 MEV

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how shall it be made salty? It is from then on good for nothing but to be thrown out and to be trampled underfoot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do men light a candle and put it under a basket, but on a candlestick. And it gives light to all who are in the house.
Matthew 5:13  -‬15 MEV

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Matthew 28:19  ‭-‬20 MEV

1 cor. 1:18

What is the Holy Spirit saying to me?

ACTIVATION

Find a quiet place to sit before the Lord and express your thanksgiving for the talents, gifts and authority He has given you to serve your generation.

Envision your role in this needed revival of influence, presence and reform. Don’t wait for the next generations to be the great reformers. Respond to God’s call to bring the Kingdom to every area of your daily life.

15. The power of the fullness the Holy Spirit

THE POWER OF THE FULLNESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
By: Young Hoon Lee

For a larva just hatched out of an egg, even a little pebble or a small twig seem like great barriers to overcome. However, if the larva will press on through all those “obstacles,” it will eventually become a beautiful butterfly which can fly easily over them.

In the same manner, we may meet a variety of obstacles in life that make us despair. So many people are frustrated because they believe they are incapable of overcoming the challenges they face. The reason they do not live a victorious life as a child of God is because they remain a spiritual “larva.”

Without the fullness of the Holy Spirit, we are powerless, and fall short of all the wonderful promises of God about victorious Christian life. In other words, unless the Holy Spirit transforms us into spiritual “butterflies,” we will not be able to overcome life’s obstacles by ourselves.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:2 ESV

For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.
1 Corinthians 4:20 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.4.20.ESV

for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
2 Timothy 1:7 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/2ti.1.7.ESV

When we receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit, our lives change comprehensively. We will win any battle against sin with the power of the Holy Spirit. We can solve any problem by the help of the Holy Spirit. Best of all, we can have a most intimate relationship with our God. If you want to live this kind of fascinating life, all you need to do is invite the Holy Spirit in and let Him have control. You will then enjoy a life of fullness with the Holy Spirit.

What is the Holy Spirit saying to me?

ACTIVATION

Identify any places in your spiritual walk where you have been stuck in the “larva” stage. Invite the Holy Spirit into those places and ask Him to transform you into an overcomer.

Praise the Lord for His overcoming Spirit in you! Give Him thanks for power to rise above despair, depression, negativity and fear. Thank Him for filling you with faith and victory!

14 living water

SINGING TO BRING WATER
By: Opoku Onyinah

On the way to Canaan, the Lord gave many prophetic pictures of water and rock to the Israelites. The rock represented Christ and water had diverse lessons to teach us. First, the people of Israel drank from the water that came from the rock, symbolizing the pierced Christ. Second, they drank from the water that came from the rock which was spoken to, which represented the risen Christ.

Third, in Numbers 21:16–18, the leaders of Israel sang and used their staffs to dig a well. This well was a picture of the Spirit, who was to be poured out after the glorification of Jesus. Jesus would no longer be there in the form of a rock, but in the form of the Spirit, who would be working as His people came together to sing His praises.

Jesus attributed this Scripture to Himself in John 7:37-38: “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Here, Jesus could be referring to this incident of the digging of the well by the leaders of Israel.

Jesus was giving a picture of springs of living water coming out from the souls of His disciples. He wanted them to move out from the rituals of drawing water from Siloam, which was the tradition during the Feast of Tabernacles, to the reality of receiving the Spirit through Him and speaking in tongues. The One to whom the people of Israel drank during the wilderness experience was there in person.

Shall we, His disciples, like the elders of Israel, sing this song: “Spring up, O well, within my soul"? Shall we stir the gifts in us? We must allow the Spirit to gush out from within our souls so that we can sing praises to the glory of the Almighty God! When we obey the Lord, we no longer strike the rock two times, neither do we keep on speaking and speaking; now we shall sing to His glory.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Colossians 3:16 ESV

What is the Holy Spirit saying to me?

ACTIVATION

What song is in your heart today? Sing it out loud to the Lord.

Bring your difficult situations to the Lord and praise Him for what He is doing in the middle of those circumstances. Sing over those situations, proclaiming the goodness of God and His promises to you.

Sing a new song of praise from your heart, especially when you least feel like praising.