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This week’s topic: The Holy Spirit

A few weeks ago, while visiting a restaurant that so many people had rave reviews about, I tried one of the signature dishes that had been the talk of the town. On this specific day, as I tested out the dish (trusting the word of mouth satisfaction offered by others), I was quite disappointed. Initially, I thought maybe it was because everyone’s reviews were so high that I had unrealistic expectations about what to expect from the food. What I discovered, after sharing with a few others who were in awe of the food, was that they all asked about how it was prepared and what kinds of ingredients did I have in and on it. After I shared with them my plate elements, they smirked, laughed me off, and simply said, “You were missing one of the key ingredients that make it good. Like the sauce!”

The life of the believer is like that when the Holy Spirit is not present and active. The Holy Spirit is the special sauce that gives the life of the believer that “It” Factor that makes their behavior, character, mindset, and approach to life stand out. The Holy Spirit is the ingredient, when added, that allows for people to be able to make lasting impressions on perfect strangers. The Holy Spirit is that special sauce that makes the voice of a person not just heard, but respected and valued. With these facts it is then very unfortunate when some have reduced the role of the Holy Spirit to only a theological fundamental belief versus an active mandate for everyone who is striving to live like Christ.

In Acts 19, Paul encountered some Christians who had accepted Jesus Christ as the Messiah, but unfortunately, had not even heard of the Holy Spirit. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary shares this insight, “they had not been led to expect the miraculous powers of the Holy Spirit, nor were they informed that the gospel was especially the ministration of the Spirit.” The good news is that as Paul shared with them about the role and responsibility of the Holy Spirit, they were open to it. In Acts 19:6, we see that their Christian Experience was then maximized beyond their previous exposure. Their life with God moved beyond a religious understanding to a relational encounter that was dynamic, engaging, and empowering. That is the role of the Holy Spirit in each of our lives. The Holy Spirit turns a church service into a worship encounter. The Holy Spirit turns a simple Bible reading into a truth revealing experience. The Holy Spirit turns a song with a good melody into a life-giving, healing hymn that transforms an environment and strengthens a heart. That’s the role of the Holy Spirit.

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article courtesy of TheStreamingFaith.com

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