Deaf Cafe Devotion for 3/27/2009

“Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region.” Luke 4:14 NLT There is nothing wrong with the desire to have the Holy Spirit's power in our lives. Sadly, however, teaching on the subject too often strays from biblical truth. In the quest for Holy Spirit power, many people follow paths paved with emotion rather than following what God has planned. There is an interesting sequence surrounding the temptation of Jesus. He was full of the Holy Spirit when He came from His baptism in the Jordan River and He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness (Luke 4:1). Did He feel like going into the wilderness? Maybe He did and maybe He didn’t. What is important is that Jesus was so full of the Holy Spirit that He obeyed. He obeyed immediately too. Allowing the Holy Spirit to fill us comes with surrender. Surrender allows the Holy Spirit to lead. The Spirit-filled believer will be an obedient believer. In a setting of temptation, Jesus withstood the direct attempts of Satan to get Him to sin. The Spirit-filled believer also will resist temptation and live a righteous life because Jesus lived a righteous life. After the temptation Jesus is described as returning to Galilee "in the power of the Spirit" (Luke 4:14). It is important that "power" is noted after surrender, obedience and resisting temptation. There is no shortcut to Holy Spirit power. One must start with surrender and proceed with obedience. Righteousness also is required. A lack of spiritual power is not due to a shortage of emotion. More often it is a shortage of the Christ-like life. If we want Holy Spirit power, follow the example of Jesus. Do not start with emotion but with truth. To know the power of the Holy Spirit, we need to begin where these verses in Luke begin. We need to begin at the same place Jesus began. It starts with God's Will and the plan He has for us. We really must let the Holy Spirit take over, fill our lives, and reveal God plan to us. Then we need to follow in obedience to see where He leads. Oh, by the way, it is always allowed and okay to ask God to help us follow these steps.