YOUR NEED FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT

09/08/2024

"As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them'" (Acts 13:2).

Winning the lost is God's greatest need, and in order for you and I to fully participate in His quest for the lost, we must be in constant fellowship with His Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:3 says, "…no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit." Come to think of it, how can anyone do anything for God without the power of the Holy Spirit? Even Jesus could not offer His blood as a sacrifice to the Father without the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 9:14).

In our opening text, we are told that "the Holy Ghost said, separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." But only after the Apostles had ministered to the Lord and fasted. Why would the Spirit wait until they had ministered to the Lord? I believe that ministering to Lord positioned them spiritually to hear the heart of God concerning Paul and Barnabas. 

Jesus, during His earthly ministry, showed us what it meant to minister to the Lord and to be intuned with His voice. It did not happen because He had the title, "Son of God" but because He chose to spend quality time ministering to His Father. Mark 1:35 tells us that "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed." Each time He did this, the Father poured His heart to Him. Hence, He was never caught off guard by any situation. 

There are so many whom I believe God has planted on our paths for salvation. And I believe that we need to be in tune with the Holy Ghost to know who these people are and what words we must say to them. Philip demonstrated this in Acts 8, and I believe it happened because he was in tune with the Holy Spirit. In Acts 8:29-31, The Spirit said to Philip, "Go over to that chariot and stay by it." So Philip ran up and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked. "How can I," he said, "unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Then Philip began with this very Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus." Verse 36-38, "As they traveled along the road and came to some water, the eunuch said, "Look, here is water! What is there to prevent me from being baptized?" And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him." Hallelujah! 

There are people at your workplace, in your study group, and even strangers whom God has prepared to receive the Word of salvation. However, for that to happen, you must first minister to the Lord in praying for them. As you do so, your heart will be tuned to the frequency of God for soul winning. If you would commit to doing that, you would see men and women get saved everywhere. Remember that it takes the Holy Spirit for anyone to say that Jesus is Lord. So plan to listen to what the Holy Spirit has to say to you today.

God bless you.

Faith-Filled Confession:

The Holy Spirit, who lives in me, has equipped me to be an effective soul winner. I am bold to declare the message of Jesus Christ. And I am effective in my ministry of being a reconciler in Jesus' name, Amen.