So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you”. And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit”.
Just like Jesus, we need to minister in the power of the Holy Spirit!
Many people do not realize that Jesus was a Spirit-filled man. They think He lived His amazing miraculous life on His own power as God the Son. But when Jesus chose to become a man, He did not call on His infinite power as the Son of God, but rather ministered as a man in dependence on the Holy Spirit.
Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:21-22; 4:18). He was filled with the Spirit (Luke 4:1). He was led by the Spirit (Luke 4:1). He was sent by the Spirit (Luke 4:18). He preached in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:18-19). He cast out demons in the power of the Spirit (Acts 10:38).
Do you see God’s message to you today? If the Lord Jesus, who lived as a man without a fallen nature, so thoroughly depended on the Holy Spirit for His ministry into the lives of those around Him, how much more do we, who are so weak and fallen and sinful, need to constantly depend on the Spirit to lead and anoint and empower us for ministry!
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