There’s a saying I always use when talking about living the Spirit-filled life: The Holy Spirit doesn’t make you better than someone else, He makes you a better you. This is a very important statement because of the way some Spirit-filled individuals have carried themselves. Being Spirit-filled should not turn anyone off. Instead, there should be something magnetic and attractive about being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Living an empowered Spirit-filled life is not as complex as some might think. There’s no secret formula. Living this life can be summed up with simple and bold obedience to God.
Simple obedience is…
… Living your life so the fruit of the Spirit is evident. Galatians 5:22–23 is clear about what life full of the Spirit looks like. Does your life bear this type of fruit? As you pastor children and their parents, do they see the Holy Spirit at work through your patience, kindness, gentleness, and so forth?
…Telling others about Jesus. We state this to our kids on a weekly basis. We challenge others regularly to witness and share Jesus with others, but as a Spirit-empowered leader, are we doing that? Acts 1:8 implies that to model this Spirit-filled life, we become witnesses spreading the good news of Jesus to everyone everywhere we are. When was the last time we told kids personal, recent stories of how we shared our faith with others?
Bold obedience is…
…Listening to the Holy Spirit and actually doing what He says. Prophesy when He says prophesy. Pray in tongues when He says pray in tongues. It’s bold because these things take us out of our comfort zone and force our faith to increase. When was the last time we allowed the Holy Spirit to minister His gifts through us to children? Do we listen to see if He wants us to call out healing?
…Being ready to allow the Holy Spirit to minister through us at all times. Here’s the thing, Spirit-empowered ministry doesn’t have to always happen from the stage. Ministry isn’t confined to happen only with our lights, stage, and props. In fact, it’s a VERY small part of what we do. Do we make that phone call and speak healing or a word of wisdom? Do we follow the Holy Spirit’s prompt, step out in faith, and actually do what He says?
So it’s that simple?
I know you were probably expecting something groundbreaking, but that’s just it about the Holy Spirit—He’s not complex. It’s not about us on stage waving our hands, sweating, and yelling into a microphone. At the end of the day to live out the Holy Spirit-empowered life, we have to act in obedience to God. That’s when people will see the difference. The world’s not looking for a circus. They are looking for true, authentic, Spirit-filled Christian leaders who live out what they're teaching.
