What does a person say to his family when he’s dying? He doesn’t say, “Hey, take out the garbage.” No. He says something momentous and important.

That’s what Jesus did when He was about to return to heaven. He told His disciples, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. . . . You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:4–8, NIV).

Now I don’t want to be confrontational, but we really need to think about this. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, and the church age began (see Acts 2). Suddenly fishermen and tax collectors who had never been to seminary, had no PhDs or MDivs, were turning the world upside down—even though they had failed previously when they had walked with the Lord.

What was the difference? Teaching? Oh, no. They’d had the best teacher, Jesus Christ, for three and a half years. Had that given them power? No. When Jesus was arrested, they’d all said, “I’m out of here.” What made the difference?

They were filled with the Holy Spirit, and with that filling came power.

When Peter preached his first sermon, it was no work of oratory. But at the end of the message, people were pricked to the heart and asked, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37, NIV). Peter became a dynamite preacher by dunamis—that dynamite power that comes from the Holy Spirit.

So let’s lay it down as a first principle: the church of Jesus Christ is to be built by all believers—not just preachers and teachers—sharing the gospel with anointed words. “Anointed” means covered with the power and person of the Holy Spirit. Teaching like that breaks through people’s defense mechanisms and casts light into dark places.

That’s how the church is supposed to grow. It’s not by might or power, not by clever oratory and presentations, “‘but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty” (Zechariah 4:6, NIV).

Yet this is almost unthought of today. Someone once said that the Holy Spirit could leave the planet, and many Christians wouldn’t even notice. Churches have learned to do church without the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. They’ve got their services all typed out, and the presentations are beautiful—but they don’t change lives like the Holy Spirit did two thousand years ago.

We all need to challenge ourselves to pray that God will fill churches, pastors, and believers with the Holy Spirit. Otherwise we’re going to have the same old thing. And the world is not becoming more Christian. We’ve got to face the need in our churches and ask God to send the Holy Spirit.

Now the Holy Spirit resides inside of every born-again believer. But is every believer filled with the Holy Spirit?

When Ephesians 5:18 says, “Be filled with the Spirit” (NIV), the Greek terminology means “be constantly filled.” In other words, the filling is ongoing. There’s not a one‑time experience with the Holy Spirit.

Look at Acts 6:3, where we find the qualifications for deacons: these men had to be known as “full of the Spirit and wisdom.” Clearly, not every Christian is wise and Spirit-filled, or we wouldn’t find qualifications listed here.

Further, Jesus wrote to the church in Laodicea: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm . . . I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15–16, NIV). Why would Jesus threaten to spit a Spirit-filled church out of His mouth? Because these believers weren’t Spirit‑filled! The power and presence of God were not being manifested among them.

Not everyone is filled with the Spirit to the same degree. One sermon can put you to sleep, while another pastor preaches the same passage and you feel like consecrating your life to Christ. What makes the difference? Oratory? No. The power of the Spirit. That’s what we need to pray for.

Prayer

Oh, God, flood our lives, churches, pastors, and missionaries with Your Holy Spirit so that Jesus will be high and lifted up. Anoint our words as we share Your gospel so the world will know that You’re alive. We can’t be effective without the Holy Spirit.

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