By His Spirit

We could also apply this phrase to the birth of the Church as we know it today. For Jesus instructed His disciples to remain in Jerusalem and wait for the gift that His Father had promised. They were to be baptised with the Holy Spirit.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

The work that Jesus had set for his followers, to go out and proclaim the Gospel, making disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey Jesus’ commands, was work not to be done in their own strength and power. It was to be done by the Spirit. That was why it was essential that the believers received the Holy Spirit so that they could go out in the power and strength of God’s own Spirit, present with them.

We too, who believe and have received Christ as our Lord and Saviour, have the Spirit of God in our lives. The calling that the Lord has placed on our lives, the mission that He has called us to, is far too great for us to accomplish in our own strength. We may be able to rely on our own gifting, strengths and resources for a time. But to be ultimately fruitful and productive in the Kingdom of God we need to acknowledge that it is not by our might, nor power, but by His Spirit that it will be done.

So I’d like to encourage you today and throughout this week to repeat to yourself and meditate on this beautiful phrase:

‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.
(Zechariah 4:6)

God Bless

Graham