These days when there is chaos and confusion in the world around us, it is more important than ever to be connected to the One who brings order to disorder; to the One who helps us—the Holy Spirit. It is imperative in this season that you stay highly connected to your church family (Hebrews 10:25), and to the Holy Spirit!
We see the first activity of the Spirit of God on page one of our Bibles. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, but creation was a process, not done all at once.
The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of the Lord was hovering over the surface of the waters (Genesis 1:2).
Formless and empty come from Hebrew words that mean a place of chaos and confusion, a lack of order.
This is where we see the Spirit of the Lord hovering (preparing to move something from chaos to order) over the surface of the waters, making something beautiful out of what was chaotic.
The Holy Spirit makes what is filled with chaos become filled with beauty; that is what He did at creation, and it’s what He still does today! Everything beautiful that God does in your life is accomplished through the direct action of the Holy Spirit! Are there areas of your life that are chaotic? Is there something broken that looks beyond hope? You need the Holy Spirit. As I look at the chaos around us, I’m reminded of our desperate need for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. You can look at all the chaos around you, or you can see the Spirit moving above it all. He’s preparing to bring life, order, and beauty!
This is what the Spirit does for us! He comes to live inside of us when we place our faith in Christ. He starts to untangle all the messes of our lives. He takes what was ugly—filled with sin and chaos—and makes it beautiful! Oh, I’m so glad that God doesn’t wait for us to be void of chaos before He comes to us!
And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more (gradually) like him as we are changed into his glorious image
(2 Corinthians 3:18).
Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not an option but a command from Jesus!
Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4-5).
I used to think that being filled with the Holy Spirit was optional. I knew being saved was essential;
that would determine where I would spend eternity, in Heaven or Hell, and the kind of life I would live on this earth. I could live an abundantly full life or a life of constant chaos on this earth. I thought water baptism was kind of an option. If I wanted to, I could be water baptized later on, and maybe someday I could be filled with the Holy Spirit. But that would probably be a way off; after all, the Spirit is Holy, and I didn’t always feel very holy. But that is not what the Scriptures teach us!
Throughout the journey of the early disciples, it’s apparent that being filled with the Holy Spirit was considered essential! How about you? Did you receive the Holy Spirit since you believed? Have you had the Holy Spirit come upon you since you believed? The disciples could not live out their God-given mission to take the gospel of Jesus to the nations of the world without first being filled with the Holy Spirit… and neither can we.
Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away —all who have been called by the Lord our God” (Acts 2:38-39).
These words of the Apostle Peter are still true today: You will receive! The bottom line is if you are born again, that means you have the Spirit of God already living inside of you. Ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit coming upon you, and you will receive!
If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him (Luke 11:13).
Friend, whether you are a brand-new believer or a seasoned follower of Christ, this promise is STILL for you! Simply ask, receive, and experience the life-transforming power of the Holy Spirit!
Renee and I love you and are praying for you. We see the Holy Spirit moving above all the chaos that has come against your life and making something beautiful in and through you!
Your Friend and Pastor,
Kevin Berry
