Why is He so Important?

Warriors Arise: July 12th, 2020

John 20:21-23 (NKJV) So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Receive the Holy Spirit - when we receive the Holy Spirit we receive the ability to love, have compassion, and demonstrate the power of God.

Seems kind of odd for Jesus to have to tell the disciples to "receive" the Holy Spirit. That would imply one could reject the Holy Spirit. Since the Holy Spirit is one of the Trinity, one would be ignorant or arrogant to reject the Holy Spirit. Whether a person is being ignorant or arrogant it would be for the same reason, they do not see the value of the Holy Spirit. Some of that is because we do not see the Holy Spirit as having the ability or power to do anything. We see God, the Father, throughout the Bible doing amazing things; speaking and the world is formed in 6 days, breathing into dirt and man is now alive, throwing hailstones from heaven to defeat an army, speaking from a burning bush, allowing a man to be a conduit of His power, sending a big fish to swallow a prophet and get him headed toward Nineveh to warn the people, and the list of God's power goes on. Jesus, the Savior of our lives, is the only way a human can live eternally in heaven, have a relationship with God, and access to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Jesus' resume is impressive, from His arrival on earth to the overcoming the enemy in the wilderness, entering into ministry teaching, feeding, healing, delivering the people from demons. His display of astonishing love for all mankind as He asks the Father to forgive the people "for they know not what they do" and resurrection from the dead leaves the intellect among us baffled.

Jesus reminded the disciples of His Father's promise. The promise is the Holy Spirit.

Luke 24:49 (NKJV) Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.

Acts 1:4-5, and 8 (NKJV) And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 8 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 end of the earth.

In the life of a believer, how do we have access to God's power? When we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior we have access to God's power, the Holy Spirit. Just like salvation is a choice, so is receiving the Holy Spirit.

Jesus doesn't want His disciples to be without the Holy Spirit. Why is it so important for His disciples to receive the Holy Spirit? In our own strength, we do not have the power to defeat the enemy. But when we receive the Holy Spirit, the enemy cannot stand against us.

Jesus has to tell the disciples to receive the Holy Spirit. They had a choice. We have a choice today. Believers fail to receive and activate the promise God has offered. Just like we have to receive Salvation, we have to receive the Holy Spirit. Salvation ensures we live eternally heaven while the Holy Spirit gives us power over the enemy and release God's will here on earth.

God is instructs Ezekiel to speak to the dry bones and call them back to life, He tells Ezekiel in verse 14... "I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live." Every army needs a power source. Our power source is God. We have access to God's power through Salvation. We activate God's power through the Holy Spirit.

Ezekiel 37:1-14 (NKJV) The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. 3 And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.” 4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. 6 I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. 9 Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ’ ” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.11 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. 14 I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’ ”

Why is "He" so important? Because without the Holy Spirit we do not have the power to defeat the devil. The devil prowls around seeking whom he can devour. The devil cannot overtake one who has received and activates the power of God through the Holy Spirit. To live the abundant life Jesus died to give us, we must to receive the Holy Spirit and activate His power over the enemy.

Father, I make the choice today to receive the Holy Spirit. I ask for the Holy Spirit to be active in my life each and every day. I pray for the wisdom to know when the enemy is lurking around, desiring to lead me into sin. I ask the Holy Spirit to make me aware of the enemy's lies so I can apply the truth of the Word of God. I ask for the Holy Spirit to be my counselor and guide. I ask for the Holy Spirit to lead me in all truth. I receive the Holy Spirit as my comforter and source of strength. I am nothing with out You, I have nothing to look forward to without Jesus, and I can do nothing to overcome the enemy without the Holy Spirit. I pray for You to make known the importance of the Holy Spirit to all believers. I ask for each one to make the choice to receive the Holy Spirit, to be empowered by the Holy Spirit and be led by the Holy Spirit. When You give the Holy Spirit, You give us the power to overcome the enemy, the confidence to walk in Your ways, and the courage to seize each God-opportunity. I ask for You to come and fill me to overflowing with Your Holy Spirit in Jesus' name amen.

A Warrior in the Lord’s Army,

Veridee Joy

My hope is for Believers in Jesus Christ to join together each day to pray, to push back the enemy as we release God’s power here on earth against the coronavirus. The prayers will be listed each day as Warriors Arise. I will put a date with it so we can keep them straight. If you have any questions please feel free to make a comment or private message me. If you would like this to come to your email directly please go to verideehand.com and subscribe.