John Hagee - The Power of the Holy Spirit
Today I'm going to talk about ten benefits of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. When you speak of the Holy Spirit as a topic, most people turn to the Book of Acts, because they think that's where it began. Actually the Holy Spirit shows up in Genesis 1:1, and it shows up in Genesis 1:26 when the Bible records, "Let us make man in our image". Obviously, "Us" is more than one. The Holy Spirit is never to be referred to as "It". The Holy Spirit is God. There is God, the father: Jesus, the son: God, the Holy Spirit, co-equal in purpose and power, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit in creation. I believe that Genesis 1:1 probably could contain the most truth of any singular verse in all of the Bible. And let me explain why. It says, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth".
That sounds very simple until you consider every word. "In the beginning" was before creation. Time did not begin until the sun and the moon were created so that time could be calibrated. The dateless past, "In the beginning". Time started afterwards. The Holy Spirit shows up in Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning (in the dateless past), God", the word there is "Elohim", it is the plural form of "El," which in Hebrew is "God". Plurality of persons means there's more than one again. Therefore, it would be, "In the beginning (the dateless past), God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit", and now we come to the word "Created," which means bara, which means to be made from nothing.
Scientists and atheists can tell you what happened after the world got here or what they think happened. But they cannot tell you how it got here. Genesis 1:1 very clearly says "God made from nothing and created this magnificent universe in which we live. He is the author and the finisher of all things". The gap between verse 1 and 2: could be millions of years. If your son comes home from college and says, "The professor says they've carbon dated a rock that's 50,000 years old". The professor's probably right, because there is no time clock running between 1 and 2, as the earth is in a state of void. Verse 2, the Holy Spirit appears again and he hovers over the earth. And when he's hovering over the earth, supernatural power is released in the creative work of the Holy Spirit.
And that's where we're going to begin with purpose number one. The Holy Spirit is a hovering force that brings supernatural power to you and to everything you touch. Read with me acts 1:8. Ready? "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth".
Father, thank you today for the power of the Holy Spirit, which is still very much intended to be a part of the New Testament church. In Jesus' name, we pray and ask it. And all of God's children said, amen.
You may be seated. Consider the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus. John the Baptist, who came specifically to introduce Jesus, presented him as the baptizer in the Holy Spirit. Matthew 3:11, John speaking, "I (John the Baptist) baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I whose sandals I am not fit to carry". He's talking about Jesus. "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire". Two things, "Holy Spirit" and "With fire". These are two experiences on the day of Pentecost in the upper room. There were 120 followers of Jesus Christ in the upper room. Back to the Bible math: why were there 120? Because there were 12 tribes. Because in Israel, you could not have a legitimate prayer meeting without ten people being present. Ten times twelve is 120. This was a national prayer service. Every tribe was there ready for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And "Suddenly there came from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting".
I'm quoting out of the Book of Acts. "There then appeared cloven tongues of fire that set upon each of them. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit of God gave them utterance," acts 2:4. According to acts 2, there were 16 languages that were spoken by different groups of people that had converged on Jerusalem at this time of the year for celebrations. This was an evangelism explosion par exsalonce, beyond anything that you can possibly imagine. There was no Gutenberg Press. There was no television. There was no radio way to reach all of these nations. But because they were all here, there was a supernatural anointing on these people. And they left the upper room, and they went out in the streets and they began to preach the gospel in the language that God was giving to them, in the language of the people that were in front of them. That's how 3,000 people got saved in one day, because of that evangelism explosion.
Purpose number two, the purpose of the Holy Spirit is to empower you to be a witness for Christ. If you're not a consistent witness for Christ, you can't possibly be filled with the Holy Spirit. I hear people say, "Well, I'm timid". You got married: didn't you? Come on. If you really love the Lord, and the fire of the Holy Spirit is in your soul, people are going to know. There's something about this life they want to know about. Jesus said to the disciples, "I'm going to send you a comforter (that would be the Holy Spirit), and he will testify of me". He will what? Testify of me. The purpose of the Holy Spirit through us is to testify of Jesus. The Holy Spirit experience in acts 2 was God's fed ex to the church that Jesus had arrived in heaven. Jesus said to his disciples, "I will send you a comforter".
How did they know he had arrived? Because in the upper room, the Holy Spirit came, and cloven tongues of fire set upon each of their heads. What is Pentecost? Pentecost is not a denomination. Don't shut your television off. Pentecost is an experience. Pentecost did not start in the upper room. Israel had been celebrating the feast of Pentecost for 1500 years before acts 2 ever got printed. The first day of Pentecost was at mount Sinai where God told Moses to bring the children of Israel, going from Egypt's bondage to the Promised Land. Why is it called "Pentecost"? It was a 50-day journey from the Red Sea to mount Sinai. Moses is on the mountain. He's face to face with God. The Bible records, "The mountain was covered with forked tongues of fire of lightning".
Seventy languages were spoken, and the nation of Israel was born. Fifteen hundred years later, in the upper room in Jerusalem, cloven tongues of fire set upon the head of every believer. And the New Testament church was born on that day. The day of Pentecost is the birthday of the new church. That's where we began! Not your denomination, but there in Jerusalem, in acts 2:4, the day of Pentecost established the birthday of the church of Jesus Christ. Jesus said to his disciples, "You shall be witnesses unto me". Say that. "Unto me". We're not called to be witnesses for your denomination. Many people are more in love with their denomination than they are Jesus. We're not called to be a witness to your church. We're not called to be a witness to your dreams and visions. We are called to be a witness to Jesus Christ. He is the answer! He is the answer! He is the answer, not us!
The third purpose of the Holy Spirit is to bring unity to the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:13, "For by one spirit, we are all baptized into one body. Whether Jews or Greeks, where the slaves are free and have all been made to drink of one spirit". We must realize that Paul's main emphasis was not on a doctrine but on the unity of the body of Christ. God's primary purpose for bestowing the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the unity of the church. Mention the word "Pentecost," and many people think that it is, many people who don't go to church much. Many people think that it is an emotional, undisciplined group of people running down the aisle screaming like a Comanche Indian. No, that's not. That's not. God has nothing to do with that. When the Holy Spirit moves, check it out for yourself in the New Testament. There is no specific reference to emotion in the various places where the baptism of the Holy Spirit is written of or described in the Bible. They were people worshipping the Lord, and the fire fell, and the power came. It wasn't an emotional thing. They walked out and they did the will of God. They were disciplined to become ambassador's of Christ.
The fourth purpose of the Holy Spirit is to be our helper. Jesus said to the disciples, "And I will ask the father, and he will give you another helper (someone other than Jesus): that he may be with you forever". For how long? Forever. The Holy Spirit shows you what to do when you don't know what to do. The Holy Spirit teaches you what to say when you don't know what to say. The Holy Spirit will give you revelation knowledge about what's about to happen to you when you don't know what's about to happen to you.
Purpose of the Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth. Jesus gave this specific promise to his disciples in John 14:16 through 18. The Bible reads, "And I will ask the father, and he will give you the spirit of truth. This world cannot accept him". Brother, is that ever the truth. "But you know him: for he lives in you and will be with you always." truth is being rejected by America right now.
I want you to know that we are still, contrary to what some political leaders are saying, we are still one nation under God. We are still endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We are the nation whose founding fathers got on their knees when they were writing the constitution, asking God for divine guidance in birthing the United States of America. We are the nation where general George Washington knelt in the snows of valley forge and prayed for God to give him divine guidance in this military exercise. We are the nation led by Abraham Lincoln that crushed slavery. You young people, who are in the streets of America screaming that you're slaves, listen up. You are free! You can do anything you want to! Take your life and do something with it, other than whine and complain about what you're not getting. Do something! Get a job and go to work.
The sixth purpose of the Holy Spirit is the voice of prophecy. The men, who wrote all of the prophecies in this Bible, didn't do it because they felt, "Oh, this is a neat idea". They wrote it because of the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:21, "For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man. But men spoke from God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit". I had our television department to put this headline up. This headline appeared in the San Antonio light in may, 1948. It says, "Israel was reborn after 2,000 years".
But what's so exciting about that? What's so exciting about that: that is Ezekiel 3,000 years ago in Ezekiel 36 and 37, said that exact thing was going to happen, because the Holy Spirit told him what is going to happen. Do we know what the future is going to be? Absolutely, because the Holy Spirit has revealed it to John the Revelator and to Daniel. And you put Daniel, Ezekiel and revelation together, and you know more about tomorrow than the wall street journal will ever know. We are a nation that was born in a day. That was Israel, Ezekiel 36:35. People will say that this land that was desolate is now like the Garden of Eden. If you go to Israel and go through the Jordan valley, it looks like the Garden of Eden. Why? Because God says, "I'm going to bring you from your gentile graves, and you shall live". "You shall live". Israel lives. Israel lives!
The seventh purpose of the Holy Spirit is to seal your life until the day of redemption. Ephesians 1:13 through 14, "And you (the believer) also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having believed. You were marked in him (meaning God). You were marked in God with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit". Listen. The Holy Spirit is God's deposit in you right now for the next age. That would be the rapture and eternity.
Before credit cards, and I know some of you have never had this, but before credit cards, people made deposits. They went into a store, and they saw something that wanted to buy. Let's say it's a lamp. It cost a thousand dollars. You didn't have a thousand dollars, so you gave the owner of the store $200. This is my deposit on that lamp. I want it. I'll be back with the rest in three days. The deposit sealed the deal. That lamp was yours. It was put aside. Anyone who came to take it, the owner would say, "Hands off: that has already been sealed with a deposit". When you receive the Holy Spirit, your life becomes sealed by the Holy Spirit. You are untouchable by demonic forces. When Satan and his demonic goons try to touch you, when they try to tempt you, when they try to harm you, when they try to harm what belongs to you: God says, "Hands off! That person, those people, that family: they belong to me! Get your hands off them"!
The eighth purpose of the Holy Spirit is to give laser beam accuracy when you pray. Paul writes in Romans 8:26 through 27, and I read, "And in the same way the spirit also helps our weakness". "For we do not know how to pray as we should. But the spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he, who searches the hearts", listen, "And he who searches your heart knows what the mind of the spirit is, because he (the Holy Spirit) intercedes for saints on the earth, who are praying, according to the will of God".
Paul speaks of our weakness. It's not a physical weakness. But it's a limitation of your mind to know exactly how to pray. Have you ever had a troubled spirit? You were anxious about something. You knew something was wrong. And you begin to pray, but you could not put it into words. There was just a spirit that was hanging around, a circumstance that you could not get a grip on. And you began to pray in the Holy Spirit. And here's what happened: God, the Holy Spirit, listens to you, and he fed exes that right, right to the throne of God. He says, "Father, this is what she's trying to say. This is what he's trying to say. They're humans. They're limited. She knows. He feels. Now let's take this answer back". Boom! It comes back and suddenly the problem disappears, because the Holy Spirit has taken your message to heaven and returned it. Give the Lord praise in the house!
The ninth purpose of the Holy Spirit is to raise your dead body from the grave on the resurrection morning. Romans 8:11, "And if the spirit of him (that's the Holy Spirit), who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give you life in your mortal body through his spirit who lives in you". What does that mean? It means when the trump of God has sounded, and you have died, and you're in the grave, and you, your body has decomposed to just ashes, the Holy Spirit will quicken your mortal body. Your body is instantly going to be recreated and reunited by the bara of God, the creative power, the power of the breath of God. Your body will instantly be joined to your spirit and sail into the heavens to meet the Lord.
How were our bodies, in the first place, created? Genesis 2:7, "God formed a man out of the dust of the earth". You, if your in your grave long enough, will turn to dust. But when the trump of God shall sound, the Holy Spirit will respond to the Ruach of God, the breath of God. And instantly, you will become a living soul. When you die, the breath of God that transformed the lump of clay into the living body of Adam, will transform your body in the grave. And instantly, you rise on the resurrection morning to meet the Lord in the air. Who does that? The Holy Spirit of God.
The tenth purpose of the Holy Spirit is divine love. Listen to this. Saint Paul writes in Romans 5:5, "And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit he has given us". That verse is earth shaking. Divine love is evidence of your salvation. I don't mean you like somebody. Jesus said the pharisees liked each other. He said if all you can do is like those who like you, you're no better than the pharisees. And he looked at the pharisees and said, "Prostitutes are going to heaven before you". That's what Jesus said. He didn't like them, because they were arrogant, self-centered people. Divine love is evidence that you really know the Lord. 1 John 4:7 and 8, "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God". Listen. "Whosoever does not love, does not know God because God is love". You know somebody carrying around a twelve-pound King James Bible and is as mean as a two-head snake? They're not a Christian. They're just a guy with a big book.
Let me quickly give these ten benefits:
1. The Holy Spirit hovers over you to release supernatural anointing and power.
2. The power of the Holy Spirit is given to you to be a witness to Christ.
3. The Holy Spirit brings unity to the body of Christ in the church, in the family, and in the nation.
4. The Holy Spirit is our Paraclete. When you don't know what to do, it will tell you what to do. When you don't understand, he understands.
5. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth. "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free:"
6. The Holy Spirit is the voice of prophecy.
7. The Holy Spirit is God's seal deposit on your life.
8. The Holy Spirit prays through you when you don't know how to pray.
9. The Holy Spirit will quicken your dead body in the grave, and you will rise in the resurrection morning with your glorified, brand new body. Lord Jesus, I'd like to have a touch of that right now.
10. The Holy Spirit brings divine love. And without the divine love, you are nothing, nothing.
Can we stand to our feet? If you have been baptized in water and you would like to receive the Holy Spirit in your life, I'd like for you to raise your hand. Thank you. I would like for everyone in this room to pray this prayer:
Heavenly Father, I come before you, in the name of the Lord Jesus, to ask you to forgive me of all of my sin in my life, for things that are present and things in the past. May the blood of Jesus Christ blot out my sin from the books of life. Holy Spirit, having now met Bible conditions, I receive you into my life. Fill me now. Hover over me. Flow into me, bringing power, life, health, divine love, unity: victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil. I receive it now, in Jesus' name.