“Under the Influence”

Scripture

1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me …

Isaiah 61 (NKJV)

28 And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.

29:And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

Joel 2 (NKJV)

1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts 2 (NKJV)

18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,

Ephesians 5 (NKJV)

When Jesus walked the earth, He made it clear that His purpose was to fulfill all the Law and the Prophets. He was, in fact, the fulfillment. Everything written from Genesis 3:15 until the opening of the New Testament pointed forward to the coming Christ.

Prophets had foretold His arrival for hundreds of years. Then, at the appointed time — “when the fullness of time had come” — prophecy became reality. God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law (Galatians 4:4). He came as the Lamb of God, spotless and without blemish, to redeem humanity to Himself. He came to restore what had been surrendered to the enemy long ago, to renew fellowship with God, and to return humanity to its place of dominion and authority in the earth.

In Luke 4:18–19, Jesus entered the temple, located Isaiah’s prophecy concerning Him, and read it aloud for all to hear. When He had read what applied to His mission at that moment, He closed the book and sat down, declaring that the Scripture had been fulfilled in their hearing. He revealed Himself as the fulfillment of that prophecy while pointing to even greater things yet to come.

Joel had spoken of the time when the Spirit of the Lord would be poured out on all flesh. That prophecy began to unfold on the Day of Pentecost, when the Spirit was given to everyone who believed in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Every believer receives a measure of this power when accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The Spirit continues to fill believers as they are sanctified and surrender their will to God’s will. Ephesians 5:18 warns against being drunk with wine but calls believers to be continually filled with the Spirit. And yet, even in this, there is more to come. The power within is like dynamite, awaiting the right spark that will ignite it.

That fire has now been lit. Though evil abounds and the world appears to be spinning out of control, the Lord is still working in His people and through them — transforming them from glory to glory. The best is yet to come. The pace of this transformation depends upon their submission to Him, for it is their surrender that fuels the completion of His work. Soon, the time will arrive when, like Jesus, they will stand in the right place at the right time to walk into their destinies.

The church is in its Season of Surrender. Are you seeking God more through fasting — whether from food, in finances, or through focus? Soon, the world will witness the manifestation of the Lord’s glory upon their lives. The question remains: are they ready? More personally, are you?

Prayer

Father, thank You for Your wonderful promises. We see the manifestation of Your power and Your glory all around us; help us to see that it is also within us. Jesus promised that we would not only do the works He did, but that we would do even greater works. We are willing and ready to do all that You have called us to do. Help us to the the theseek Your face continually, fully surrendered, yielded, and still, so that we are in position to receive what You desire for us to have and to be. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Reflection

“Let God have your life; He can do more with it than you can.” – D. L. Moody