We Need the Holy Spirit, More Now Than Ever – September 2019

I was blessed to be able to attend the 25th Pentecostal World Conference in Calgary at the end of August. It happens every three years and was close enough to drive to. 74 countries were represented and about 3,500 were able to be there (although 5,000 were registered but many had their travel disallowed). This is not simply a gathering of those directly connected to the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada but brothers and sisters of many Pentecostal persuasion (Foursquare, Apostolic, Holiness, etc.).

The theme of this conference was “Spirit Now!” The church in the world today needs the Holy Spirit now more than ever. We were challenged by speakers from Ghana, Malaysia, South Korea, India, South Africa, USA and Canada to re-emphasize and engage with the Holy Spirit in our churches. We can attempt much for God but to truly be fruitful in our day we will need to have Spirit empowered prayer and practice of our faith.

The apostle Paul wrote about our needs in this way. He wrote that he was thankful for speaking in tongues more than anyone in Corinth (1 Cor. 14:18)  and I’m sure it was because of how much he needed to built up in his own walk with God (1 Cor. 14:4). What we need in this life is given to us by the Holy Spirit. Jesus even told His disciples that they needed to make sure that they were empowered by the Holy Spirit for the work they had (Acts 1:8).

As much as we need the Holy Spirit for our own walk with God, much more we need to be actively engage with Him for the sake of building the church. Paul saw this as the greater work and the greater expression of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 14:1-5; but you could read all of 1 Cor. 12-14). Jesus did not come to be served but to serve (Mt. 20:28). The heart of God in the gifts of the Spirit is not to boost selfish ego but to accomplish His mission.

So, I want to encourage and challenge us all to be continually being filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18). However, a pool with only an inlet can become stagnant. We also need prayer and practice outlets in seeing the kingdom of God move forward in our world.

Journeying with you,

Pastor Merril

 


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