Exodus 33:12-16
What’s different about us as Christians? We are distinguished by God’s presence, he lives inside of us.
1 Corinthians 6:19
In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit came upon specific individuals for specific times, but in Joel 2:28-29 there is a promise that something will change. In Acts 2 we see that promise fulfilled and throughout Acts we see the difference and transformation that the Holy Spirit brings.
How does this impact our lives:
- It means we have a guide
- Moses asked for a sign in Exodus 33:12 but he got something better, God as his guide.
- Galatians 5:16
- We also have the Holy Spirit, he’s with us always and will lead, guide and direct us.
- You have power
- At Pentecost God’s presence was poured out on all people and immediately there was salvation and throughout acts we see signs and wonders.
- As Christians we have the power of the Holy Spirit inside of us and shouldn’t that make a difference to how we live? Many of us struggle with this and don’t live visibly different to others.
- We’ve been transformed by the Holy Spirit, like a caterpillar turned into a butterfly
We are distinguished by God’s presence and we have a guide and we have power, but there’s an ongoing action for us. In John 7:37-39 Jesus says come and drink and in Luke 11:13 Jesus says he’ll give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. Jesus is telling us to come to him, to drink and to ask. There’s an ongoing action needed.
Galatians 3:3
So many of us start by relying on the Holy Spirit and then we forget and slip into human effort. But we will only stand out by his presence, not by human effort.