Empowered For A Purpose
And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. Mark 1:10-13 (KJV)
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Acts 1:8 (KJV)
The Spirit of God came upon Jesus to empower Him to overcome and do ministry. When the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we are clothed with power, or spirit-empowered, to overcome and do ministry. We can gain some interesting insight on this from the passage from Mark’s gospel noted above.
First of all, we need to encounter the Holy Spirit where we have a personal relationship with Him. He is co-equal with the Father and the Son and we can have a relationship with Him.
Secondly, we need to hear God for ourselves. We too, are His beloved, or dearly-loved, children. This gives us identity, security, and belonging. And when we hear God speak, we hear that He is well-pleased with us, which gives us affirmation.
Thirdly, Holy Spirit is our guide, but don’t be surprised when He leads you into a difficult place. That is where we earn to use the Word of God and walk in the identity God has given us to overcome every attack and temptation of the devil. Thus, we learn to overcome.
And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. Luke 4:14 (KJV)
The wilderness, though difficult, is a place of testing, training, and growth when we yield to the Holy Spirit. When we come out of the wilderness, we will be empowered even more to be continually filled, led, and used by God.
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For further study, also read Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-14
